By Jeff D'Andrea

Raiders’ Vanstone, Guhle weigh in on Habscheid contract

Apr 23, 2015 | 7:24 AM

The Prince Albert Raiders may have finally found some much-needed stability in the head coaching position. On Tuesday, the Raiders announced they locked down Marc Habscheid with a four-year contract.

The Raiders’ hope is that Habscheid will be able to stick around for the entirety of that contract, as the team has had four head coaches in the last four years and two midseason coaching changes.

Bruno Campese started the 2011-2012 year as the head coach and general manager, but relinquished the head coaching duties to Steve Young in November of that year. Young’s contract wasn’t renewed after a late-season collapse in the 2012-2013 season. Cory Clouston then took over, and was fired on Halloween this past season.

Raiders forward Tim Vanstone completed his third year with the team and has played under three different head coaches in that span (not including Dave Manson, who was the interim head coach for a game on Halloween).

“It’s a little difficult I guess, when you have coaches coming in and out,” said Vanstone. “Not saying they weren’t great coaches, they were good coaches as well, but I think a lot of players in this league and any other league just want stability.

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“You come to the rink and you see the same face and can have trust with that guy. If something’s not working, you’re comfortable enough to talk to him.”

Campese said that Habscheid’s relationship forming with the team was a key factor in locking him down. Campese said that Habscheid’s “communication and his connection to our players was excellent,” as well as his relationship to the fans, sponsors and community.

Members of the team themselves have responded positively since Habscheid has taken over. Sophomore forward Matteo Gennaro went as far as saying Habscheid was “probably the best thing that’s happened” for his hockey career. (LINK OVER QUOTE http://panow.com/article/509390/gennaro-s-second-half-surge-gets-raider-recognized )

Raiders defenceman Brendan Guhle, who’s eligible for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft like Gennaro, has also blossomed under Habscheid.

One of Habscheid’s biggest philosophies that he emphasized throughout the year was getting defenceman offensively engaged. That type of tactic seemed to suit the smooth-skating Guhle.

In his last 22 games, Guhle scored 15 of his 32 season points, while carrying a +5 rating in that span.

“I think I responded pretty well to that,” said Guhle. “I had a pretty good last 30 or so games. I think having him in and having him appreciate my style of play really complements us well together. I think it will be the same next year.”

It wasn’t too difficult to predict that Vanstone and Habscheid were going to get along, as both hail from Swift Current.

“Immediately when I met Marc, we had that connection already,” said Vanstone. “We had similarities that grew,” said Vanstone. “He’s somebody I look up to, he’s one of the role models in my life. It’s something pretty special to have a coach from your hometown.

“He instills a lot of confidence in us and he trusts us in every situation,” added Vanstone. “That’s something I haven’t had a lot of in my first two years. I strived with him, being an 18-year-old. He counted on me to play big minutes and players want to be that guy—players want to be that last-five-minute guy.

“The potential he sees in everyone will help everyone grow and become a better team.”

jdandrea@panow.com                                                                             

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea