Ice Wolves’ new head coach Martin with big shoes to fill

His latest stint was with the Storm, where he started at 2011 and took on several roles like the assistant coach, assistant general manager and most recently as the head scout.

Martin said it has been his goal over the last few years to get a head coaching gig, something he was able to achieve recently with the La Ronge Ice Wolves.

“This is what I was looking for,” said Martin. “Luckily for me, La Ronge was willing to give me that opportunity.”

The Ice Wolves had a disappointing season last year, finishing with the league’s second worst record of 20-31-0-3, but after discussions with a pile of players, Martin gets the impression everybody is ready for a fresh start next year.

“I’ve talked to the majority of the vets, the first thing is they’re really excited with the season,” said Martin.

“Obviously, last year was a tough year.

“They’re all ready to start a new era so the excitement level is extremely high, which is nice to hear.

“Our defence is an older defence unit that’s got a lot of experience and a lot of size, so that’s a positive,” added Martin. “We got a young group of forwards that didn’t get a great opportunity last year to put up numbers, but have put up numbers in the past. We’re looking for those guys to take the next step.”

One guy that won’t be around is Alex Wakaluk, the reigning SJHL MVP goaltender that came to the Ice Wolves as ‘a player to be named later’ in a deadline deal with the Melville Millionaires. Wakaluk recently committed UMass-Amherst and their NCAA Div 1 Hockey program.

“He just got a really good opportunity there,” said Martin. “A lot of those guys go and sit on the bench the first year, but they gave him an opportunity to hopefully play some games there next year as a freshman.

“So, he had to take it. I respect that.”

Instead, Martin will likely have Dasan Sydora as his starting goaltender, someone he has familiarity with. In 2011-2012 when Sydora won the Telus Cup with the Red Deer Midget AAA Rebels, he was promoted briefly to Martin’s Grande Prairie Storm.

“I got to watch him out here in Alberta and Red Deer,” said Martin of Sydora, who had a .903 save percentage in 16 games with the Ice Wolves last year. “I really think we’re going to see some really good things with him, coming off a Telus Cup victory two years ago as a starting goalie.”

Martin reported to La Ronge on Sunday and stay for two weeks to deal with some administrative matters, like meetings with his team and the league. He’ll move to La Ronge for good at the beginning of August.

jdandrea@panow.com

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea

by Jeff D'Andrea

Ice Wolves’ new head coach Martin with big shoes to fill

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