I've been wondering about Neepawa for quite some time. I issued some email questions to Bryant Perrier a few weeks ago and to his credit, he wished to talk on the phone about it. I am not really in favor of that as things can be taken out of context on a phone interview. In this day and age, it's much easier to copy and paste answers given to specific questions. He never did answer. If he does, I'll be more than happy to post.
In the meantime, here is an editorial of mine. For anyone in Neepawa who may be offended, I apologize. But this is how I see things from a distance (because Neepawa was the team I covered in the MJHL for five years during my stay in Brandon, I have always continued to follow their success or lack thereof since I moved away):
This past summer, I posted on my blog that I was surprised to see the Neepawa Natives add a player like 20-year-old goalie Wendell Vye. I also made some comments that were, probably, not fair to Vye or the Natives concerning how they were able to get him and whether or not they could keep him happy for the entire season.
Those comments struck a nerve with Cam Dickie, the now former Director of Player Personnel of the Natives, who decided he’d call me on a Saturday night after 10pm to express his disappointment with me. Obviously, I didn’t take the call at 10pm, but Dickie certainly tried again the next afternoon and let me have it pretty good with regards to potential law suits, and the fact Vye was just looking for a place to play and had a family connection with Neepawa.
I admit to being wrong on my choice of words with regards to the Vye acquisition/signing (whatever it was); but also felt there was an attempt to bully on the phone. Maybe that wasn’t Cam’s intent, but that’s how I took it (rightly or wrongly).
I countered with sticking to my guns that the Natives were a shoestring budget organization (now they have their hand out at municipal council, so this point should be further proven) when I worked in Brandon and I’ve seen nothing to indicate things have changed since I moved on. Cam didn’t really like that assertion, but admitted I was entitled to my opinion.
Still, I left the conversation thinking the Natives must be serious about contending in 2010-11 and I was going to watch how their year goes with great interest following that phone call.
One of the places I go to get a pulse on what people are thinking is the Network54 MJHL Message Board. Granted, there is a ton of crap on there and you can’t really put a lot of credibility into what is posted by anonymous folks who have axes to grind. Still, it was obvious to me that Neepawa head coach Bryant Perrier (and Dickie) generated more emotions from fans than any other person, team, or issue in the entire MJHL. In fact, it’s not even close. I’m not really sure why. I’ve never met Perrier, never talked to him, and wouldn’t recognize him if I passed him on the street.
Having said that, most of the time when you talk to a coach about another coach within the same league, you get the feeling that there is an unwritten code where despite the fact they are on opposite teams, coaches don’t throw one another under the bus. Not so when it comes to Perrier, who is not held in high regard with, at least, two of his MJHL peers based on comments relayed to me. I also spoke to a handful of former players (and there are a lot of former players when it come to Neepawa) and none of them had anything good to say about their stay.
Regardless of whether or not a fan likes or dislikes the management of the Neepawa Natives, this is a team that turned over more than half of its roster from opening night by the end of the season. Dickie was fired in early December and Vye ended up leaving too. At the end of the day, based on my feeling from the summer, I wasn’t surprised to see Vye leave town. Was Dickie the ‘family connection’ for Vye? Why would he leave after Dickie’s departure? In any event, it doesn’t matter. The Natives went completely south from that point on and they ended up finishing in last place and missing the playoffs. I don’t have an opinion on Perrier as a person, but I do know a hockey team that has high hopes to contend for a championship in August, turns over 60% or more of its roster during the regular season, and ends up sinking to the bottom of the standings by February probably shouldn’t be offering a contract extension to the head coach. I’m not saying he should, necessarily, be fired either. Maybe he gets a mulligan and let’s see what happens in the first half of 2011-12.
Those comments struck a nerve with Cam Dickie, the now former Director of Player Personnel of the Natives, who decided he’d call me on a Saturday night after 10pm to express his disappointment with me. Obviously, I didn’t take the call at 10pm, but Dickie certainly tried again the next afternoon and let me have it pretty good with regards to potential law suits, and the fact Vye was just looking for a place to play and had a family connection with Neepawa.
I admit to being wrong on my choice of words with regards to the Vye acquisition/signing (whatever it was); but also felt there was an attempt to bully on the phone. Maybe that wasn’t Cam’s intent, but that’s how I took it (rightly or wrongly).
I countered with sticking to my guns that the Natives were a shoestring budget organization (now they have their hand out at municipal council, so this point should be further proven) when I worked in Brandon and I’ve seen nothing to indicate things have changed since I moved on. Cam didn’t really like that assertion, but admitted I was entitled to my opinion.
Still, I left the conversation thinking the Natives must be serious about contending in 2010-11 and I was going to watch how their year goes with great interest following that phone call.
One of the places I go to get a pulse on what people are thinking is the Network54 MJHL Message Board. Granted, there is a ton of crap on there and you can’t really put a lot of credibility into what is posted by anonymous folks who have axes to grind. Still, it was obvious to me that Neepawa head coach Bryant Perrier (and Dickie) generated more emotions from fans than any other person, team, or issue in the entire MJHL. In fact, it’s not even close. I’m not really sure why. I’ve never met Perrier, never talked to him, and wouldn’t recognize him if I passed him on the street.
Having said that, most of the time when you talk to a coach about another coach within the same league, you get the feeling that there is an unwritten code where despite the fact they are on opposite teams, coaches don’t throw one another under the bus. Not so when it comes to Perrier, who is not held in high regard with, at least, two of his MJHL peers based on comments relayed to me. I also spoke to a handful of former players (and there are a lot of former players when it come to Neepawa) and none of them had anything good to say about their stay.
Regardless of whether or not a fan likes or dislikes the management of the Neepawa Natives, this is a team that turned over more than half of its roster from opening night by the end of the season. Dickie was fired in early December and Vye ended up leaving too. At the end of the day, based on my feeling from the summer, I wasn’t surprised to see Vye leave town. Was Dickie the ‘family connection’ for Vye? Why would he leave after Dickie’s departure? In any event, it doesn’t matter. The Natives went completely south from that point on and they ended up finishing in last place and missing the playoffs. I don’t have an opinion on Perrier as a person, but I do know a hockey team that has high hopes to contend for a championship in August, turns over 60% or more of its roster during the regular season, and ends up sinking to the bottom of the standings by February probably shouldn’t be offering a contract extension to the head coach. I’m not saying he should, necessarily, be fired either. Maybe he gets a mulligan and let’s see what happens in the first half of 2011-12.
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