New Coach – New Ideas

If you ask, no one saw this move coming, especially in the first four months of the season, but for whatever reason you are told – changes had to be made.

Be they the players, the Coach or the Manager, they were made and for the most part caught everyone off-guard, especially the spectators you ask.

We hear from some that say “I told you so”, but those are only “bragging” so they can feel important and think they actually know something about the game, when in reality they are only spectators.

So with Troy Ward out of the picture, the hunt was on for a replacement for the Giants for not only this season but quite possibly the next couple as well. 

The Giants captured the spotlight and pre-empted the 2014 Grey Cup with the news that they had hired former Winnipeg Jet’s bench boss Claude Noel from the desert.

True he was enjoying his time in Phoenix, but he was itching to get back behind the bench and for starters going from the NHL to Major Junior in the WHL, is huge.

Noel takes over from Troy Ward; who is a friend of his after a short 25-game stand in Vancouver and for whatever reason the club record was a dismal 9-16 start to the regular season.

Noel is originally from Kirkland Lake, Ont., was hired by the Jets when they moved to Winnipeg from Atlanta for the 2011-12 season and the season before he had worked in Winnipeg with Vancouver Canucks’ AHL’s Manitoba Moose.

He was 80-79-18 in his two-plus seasons with the Jets.

Following his first practice at the Ladner Leisure Centre he gathered the onslaught of reporters and told them We’re going on another adventure.”

Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed and length of the contract appears to be something that both sides will discuss  when the time is right and as the season progresses.

Noel also is still looking at the prospect of finding employment back in the National Hockey League as a Head Coach, should that happen this season or next.

Giants majority owner Ron Toigo stated “He just wants to come here and coach and we talked about term and he said, ‘Don’t worry about that, we’ll figure it out.’”

Noel coached the Jets for two-and-a-half seasons before he was fired – “reassigned,” as he called it — though it’s been a chilly beginning to December in Vancouver, the Giants are looking at heating things up.

Noel continued It’s also not the NHL and I certainly don’t fear the situation, but rather welcome the opportunity and adventure to a new chapter.

“I’m not trying to focus too much on team play right now. I think you have to allow the players to let their mind go free and just play rather than give them a whole lot of information. There will be some things I want. I’d like us to just build a foundation of work.”

He saw the third period of the Giants’ loss in Edmonton on Friday and it was the club’s sixth consecutive defeat, but he also witnessed a strong victory over the Calgary Hitmen the following night.

He indicated that he thought they (the Giants) played with much more “purpose” in Calgary, than they did the previous night in all areas of the ice.

Among the former Giants that Noel coached with the Jets was sniper Evander Kane.

Sportswave wishes him all the best in his new role with the Giants!!