Tuesday, November 1, 2011

FORMER NEEPAWA PLAYERS SHARE THEIR STORIES

In the wake of the hazing incident in Neepawa with the MJHL Natives, comes word of other stories involving two former players, who say they couldn’t wait to be shipped out of town.

Some of the stories with regards to how players are treated, fall in line with reports the late-September hazing victim was forced to apologize to his teammates for the matter becoming public.

In the interest of protecting identities, the players are identified as Player A and Player B.

Player A says the coaching staff are too tough on them, mentally.  As of Christmas last year, twelve of the twenty players on the opening night roster were gone.  “It’s mentally stressful.  You go to the rink every day and you aren’t even concerned about being on the ice.  You are wondering about trades, having a strip torn off you, and stuff like that.”

Player B tells an interesting story of having to travel from his hometown in northern Manitoba to take part in a mandatory practice in Brandon.  “It was not optional.  We had to leave our jobs and go.  In order for me to make it, I had to travel all night.  My friend and I practiced all weekend, including on Sunday.  I informed the coach and the Director of Player Personnel that my friend and I can’t miss work.  Their response was that both of our careers were on the line and if we were to leave he couldn’t say what would happen with us.  I pleaded that I’d be tired having practiced all weekend and then having to drive through the night again to make it home and they still told me ‘no’.  I got home Monday morning at 6am and reported for work.”  

Player B says the lack of caring for his personal well being was reversed when the shoe was put on the other foot.  “I make the team and one night I got a call from my sister, who had a family problem and needed money.  It was ten o’clock at night and Winnipeg is two hours away.  So, I phoned to see if it would be okay for me to miss curfew in this situation so I could go and help her out.  I was told that I could not as he didn’t want me driving at night.  It was too dangerous.  If that’s the case, what was he thinking in the summer time when I had to drive ten hours after a weekend of practice?”


Player B says his time in Neepawa was full of mind games and he eventually asked to be traded.  “They told me the team had big plans.  I was told of a big tryout coming as I was on the waiting list for the World Junior tryouts.  I’m not even good enough to play for Team West at the World Junior ‘A’ Challenge.  I don’t know why they thought I’d believe such a story.  But, they said they wanted a guy like Jordin Tootoo and that guy is me.  They fed me a lot of kool-aid and I, eventually, just let it go.”

“As a hockey player, I want to go to the next level and they (Coach and Director of Player Personnel) have power over me when it comes to getting there.  They would say there are scholarships lined up, so you have to stay and play hard.”

Player A said he never knew of a meeting where there wasn’t a witness.  “He’d have either a three way call going on (conference call) or he’d call up the rink guy or get one of his assistants.  He never did anything one-on-one.  I’ve had more than four coaches in my junior career and none of them conduct meetings this way.  I think it should be one-on-one because it’s confidential and you shouldn’t have others standing around listening to your conversation.”

Player B adds, “He (coach) would tell players that he doesn’t want to see one player in the lobby talking to their family after a game.  They can do that in the morning.  He hated parents and girlfriends because he says they take you off your routine.  Some parents would come from a long way away to see their sons.  The coach would still say to us to go straight home.”

Player A (not knowing what Player B had said to me) backed up that statement.  “He’s (Perrier) absolutely controlling.  I would have to go to the office every day and relay messages from him to the other players.  Afterward, I’d be told to re-iterate.  The guys couldn’t see their girlfriends or parents after the game.  They had to go straight home.  Even if parents came from the States, he would tell the guys that if you see your parents after the game, you may as well go home with them.”

“They weren’t even allowed to stay at the billet’s house.  Why?  Beats me.  He claimed that having them there would interfere with the on-ice performance.”

Player A further states, “Messages were very hypocritical.  If something wasn’t going the way it was planned, they will talk your ear off until you believe them.”

Player A says the Network 54 Message Forum is a huge topic with the coaching/management staff.  It’s called ‘Third Party Interference’.  I have done a lot of research on my own and while there are, obviously, anonymous people with axes to grind for their own selfish reasons, there was one very moving post that appeared to have merit.  Heavy research confirmed the post below is, indeed, from a father of a former Neepawa MJHL player.  To this point, the player in question does not wish to come forward to discuss anything further.  But, the fact remains this message was on the forum:

We have had the misfortune of our son playing for Coach Perrier. This coach is the reason we all have to go to numerous certification clinics sponsored by Hockey Canada.

I have been lucky enough to have both him and Cam Dickie on the phone telling me that I had to listen to what they said and that I could not respond to their comments. The antics of these two people are indescribable. As a parent I had over 19 years invested in raising this young man and they were now telling me all of weaknesses and faults and how they were going to help him first become a better person and then a better player.

The news release announcing the signing of my son with Neepawa made statements that were untrue concerning scholarships, etc. Coach Perrier always talks about scholarships, etc and the majority of these statements are false and misleading. Most of the young men who have played with him will confirm this.

He talks about values and morals and standards but his antics during practices and in the dressing room did not substantiate what he was saying.

When my son got traded to Neepawa, the first thing I did was check the coach out. That is easy these days given the internet. The reports and reviews I found on line were a bit alarming regarding his reputation in the west. I talked with several GM's I personally knew and the ones who knew of him did not speak highly of him.

As I look back and see what is going on right now in Neepawa it is not surprising. Coach Perrier is the ultimate control freak and wants to control every aspect of a player's life. He is a promoter who is skilled at using small amounts of truth to ad credibility to what he is doing. His favorite tool is a news release which one week he will be telling us all how great a player is and how he will contribute to the program and then the next week how he didn’t just fit with management’s plans.

I hope the Natives do survive this bump in the road despite Coach Perrier and Cam Dickie. We have kids who have played sports at all levels nationally and internationally and as parents have benefited from the efforts of some of the best coaching and management available. Unfortunately Coach Perrier and Cam Dickie are the two worst that we have experienced.

It would not be fair to only criticize this program. The community of Neepawa was fantastic and Mary Ellen Clarke is the most caring, compassionate person parents could ever want looking after your son. To this day my son still keeps in touch with her and that is really what life is all about. My son's billets were also excellent people whom we trusted explicitly.

Fortunately life is more about the people you meet, the friendships you make and the foot print you leave on life, not how much ice time you get, whether you get to be on the power play or how many points you amass.

At the end of last season, I emailed coach Perrier a number of questions, which he did not answer.  He asked to speak with me on the telephone instead.  Based on the statements of several people I have talked to, I’m not interested in doing a phone interview as I don’t need to be accused of taking words out of context.  I’d rather post a straight forward Q&A and allow the answers to speak for themselves.  To his credit, Perrier seemed friendly and approachable on the phone and asked me to come to Neepawa and see the good work being done with the program.  I have not, at this point, taken him up on his offer.

The President of the team, Dave McIntosh, has been with the organization for a very long time.  I remember having positive dealings with him when I lived in Brandon and covered the team for CKX.  Aside from that, I can’t comment on either Perrier or McIntosh.  

I did have a phone conversation with Cam Dickie that involved him threatening me with a lawsuit, which I can see might be a fairly common practice when statements are made regarding the team that are not favorable.  http://m.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/manitoba-hockey-league-wont-talk-about-media-reports-of-naked-hazing/article2215259/?service=mobile

Dickie was removed from his post as Director Of Player Personnel in December 2010, according to Player A because another player had enough and quit the club.  That player then went to the team’s Board of Directors and gave his version of why he was no longer playing and it was followed by Dickie’s dismissal.  The player did come back and play out the season.  This allegation has not been proven, but is the word of Player A.

The treatment, it seems, isn’t limited to players.  Branden Crowe is a young broadcast journalist at CJVR in Melfort; but he used to be a media member in Brandon.  Looking at being more involved with hockey, he placed a call to inquire about scouting.  “Perrier called and invited me to his office to meet.  When I got there, I knew something wasn’t right.  They sat me down and stood around me in a manner I felt was ‘intimidating’.  They asked me about my blog, which I had to write when I was a Communications Assistant for the Winnipeg Goldeyes (baseball).  The post, in my opinion, was far from defamatory or vulgar towards the team.  It simply my thoughts on Ed Friesen making the WHL as a 20-year-old.  Perrier then said, “There’s no scouting job and this is not good Crowe.”  Dickie then went on to accuse me of writing negative comments on the Network 54 Forum.  At that point, I didn’t even know the message board existed.  They both went on to threaten me with legal action, saying slander is illegal and they would have none of it.  They also said if I ever wrote anything negative about their team again, I would hear about it and I was threatened with a lawsuit one more time for good measure before I took off.”

My email remains open for any member of the Neepawa Natives to reply.  It’s also available if any former players or players’ families have similar stories and wish to come forward.

12 comments:

  1. Thanks Mike....what a shitshow. As a former coach there, I have very mixed feelings about this entire situation. I don't know Perrier, but know Cam Dickie personally, as well as Dave and many others in the community. Cam's an Ass, and always has been. You were aware that Cam was Graham James asst in AAA Winnipeg, right? I'm not sure what's happened to Dave, but for the team to sit back and essentially take a spectator's approach is gutless. When I left Neepawa, I thought we had a nice little thing going there, so, in that way, this is very depressing.
    Gaynor Vivian was a pompous, self-righteous, arrogant prick - an owner of a Jr team, that attempted to preach to me about values and discipline, who happens to make his living off the exploitation of women - owns stripper bars!! Lol. In a dark way, I'm glad to see this happen to him

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    1. anyone that has met Gaynor Vivian knows what a spoiled little golden spooned mommas boy he is. even his parents couldn't stand the little prick! anyone that has every worked for him found out quickly that he would sell his soul for a penny. a shitbird with no friends from day one!

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  2. now this is the stuff I was expecting Mike

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  3. I don't know any of the people in question, but I'm not so excited about this article. Most of the comments from the players seem to come from spoiled brats. Parents are supposed to stay with the billets now? Coaches are supposed to let players leave town whenever they want?

    I'm not defending Perrier, because where there's smoke there's fire. But this article is crap and unprofessional.

    Are players supposed to be able to do whatever they want these days? I don't approve of his methods, but jr. hockey players still need discipline and rules.

    Oh, and the 'mentally stressful' quote is priceless. Welcome to Junior hockey, son.

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  4. Oh, yeah... practices are known to be mandatory too. I don't know why it was in Brandon, but are you truly advocating that players can show up at practice whenever they please?

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  5. It's also a bit unfair to protect the player's identities yet the person you are libeling is known. If players have legitimate gripes, be men and step forward. This article is about as credible as the MJHL message board.

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  6. you cannot be serious. you can't expect young men probably still in junior hockey to reveal their identity when blowing the whistle on a coach who has shown he will do anything to ruin a players career.

    and yes a junior team must have rules, nobody was asking to leave the team whenever they wanted. They asked to leave one time to help a family member. This is Jr.A hockey, hardly any of these kids will ever make a meaningful cent off of hockey. Kids not being allowed to see parents in the lobby after a game? Not being allowed to help a sister in need? These are not "rules" it's lunacy.

    Mike is the one person dealing with the real issue here. The hazing incident that came to light was a symptom of a poisenous system. Mike is the one guy who is seeing the forest for the trees and focusing on the under-current causing the hazing incident that came to the surface.

    Everyone else is so focused on what was tied to who's thing that they are failing to ask the difficult question and ask what kind of a ship was being run there.

    Cudos Mike.

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  7. I've got no problem with what your are saying. I'm just saying it's in bad taste to just stick it up on the internet. The players stories should be told to those that make the decisions. It's nobody else's business. People in other careers don't have their dirty laundry thrown up on the web for all to see.

    Doesn't matter... Perrier is gone.

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  8. Note: Cam Ftoma was Graham James' assistant. Not Cam Dickie. Jeff asked me to clarify the error.

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  9. Unbelievable that there are people posting comments on her like, "welcome to junior hockey"! The whole incident is disgraceful! It should be posted and brought forward, the people responsible for such nonsense should be splattered all over the internet & media for their pure stupidity! The "welcome to junior hockey" comment, Junior Hockey is about sport, respect and competiton not tying water bottles to someones balls, you dumb ass!
    Good on you Mike for posting everything about this situation! I hope legal action is taken and these idiots get what they deserve!

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  10. I played for him in Penticton. He is, in my opinion, a nut job - plain and simple. Controlling is an understatement. He turned players against eachother, belittles and degrades players, and in the next breath pump them up so they will "tow the line" for him.

    I can't even remember how many times he would put the same players into battle drills over and over again. This only seemed to stop when 2 players fought eachother...in practice. If anyone ever dared to speak out against him - they were gone.

    Looking back now, the best part of my time in Penticton was when my pickup truck was full of my things and I was driving home...for good.

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