King’s Management has confirmed several changes to Hockey Operations today. These final pre-season assignments come on the heels of much preparation and heightened community, volunteer and sponsorship support for a successful Kings season.
Glenn Anderson has opted to hand off his General Manager post to play a more expansive/supervisory role as Director of Hockey Operations. Beginning today, he will oversee all hockey operations in addition to his head coaching responsibilities. As a first move in this capacity he has named Stephan Seeger Jr. as his successor General Manager and has also added him as an Associate, supplementing his bench staff. Management has approved and endorsed the changes in an effort to further breed a healthy winning environment, something the Kings organization sees as a consequence of broader emphasis upon team/organizational cohesion.
“Glenn has a vision for his on-ice product, to be sure; his bench, his lines, his special teams and other on-ice strategies are certainly all ‘his’, but they are all products of valuable dialog and input from his coaching staff who work together with him toward solving immediate problems, making situational adjustments and ensuring forward progress. He has a keen sense of how traditional organizational/coaching ‘divides’ can sometimes undermine forward progress. Over the last year, management has worked very closely with Glenn for obvious reasons—we welcome his fingerprints on all aspects of Hockey Operations because we share a vision. He is an epic connoisseur of the game and what many people are not aware of is Glenn’s path to that label. Yes, he is a proven on-ice phenome-but if you ask him, I think he’ll tell you that skill alone can’t get you to a Stanley Cup Championship and the honour of being a Hall of Famer also requires much more. He adopts a holistic approach to becoming a winning hockey team; goals are attained comprehensively for Glenn and organizational integration is something he sees not as undermining specialty components necessary to win, but as necessary supplements to a healthy organization that realizes goals on course to a winning environment/culture. He is definitely a big picture guy – Glenn’s experience allows him to very clearly see the ‘hockey forest and its trees’ together. The ice-makers and Zamboni driver, equipment managers, trainers, bus drivers, scorekeepers, volunteers and game announcers are all within a healthy winning forest for Glenn, whose respect for all contributors is well recognized by everyone in those positions,” said King’s Team President Stephan Seeger Sr. In his new role as Director of Hockey his influence will not only guide our team, but also all of the staff that work together to make us a successful organization.”
In a short but straightforward response, Kings Hall of Famer Head Coach says he opted for the new changes because “[w]inning is a cultural aspect of the game and championships are not just a product of games won and lost; success in hockey is just as much about a collective attitude and path to victory. To win, everyone from bottom up has to believe and be on the same page. And visions are relative, working with what you have at the level you operate in. It all takes time, sometimes several months into a season to even implement an efficient system. I have learned myself that this is especially true at this level, with developing players. So we work with this learning/development curve, alongside of our vision for the season and within the evolving culture which can sometimes take years to nurture. We have certainly made cultural progress since last year. Right now I’m looking forward to it coming to together to produce a successful season, during which I plan to contribute more globally in a supervisory capacity to all other aspects of hockey ops I feel must be more aligned with our vision, goals and overall organizational philosophies.”
Regarding Seeger Jr.’s appointment to new key positions Coach Anderson noted that he personally precipitated the changes after careful consideration, based upon efforts undertaken by the duo over this last year, putting a competitive team on the ice for the upcoming season. “He get’s it” said Coach Anderson, “I am aware of Steph’s own hockey path from mite to major-junior and then to pro hockey in Europe. His experience and what he brings to the table for us at this time is something I thought would complement the pieces we have in place for the beginning of the season. We see hockey at this level in a very similar way, both on and off-ice aspects, he has a more contemporary view of junior hockey having played so much more recently than me and I know that this perspective is important when dealing with players in today’s game. He is dedicated to this project and his knowledge of the game goes well beyond his age.”
Echoing Anderson’s sentiments, Kings Team Vice-President Chad Van Diemen remarked: “When Steph and I met at last summer’s Connecticut ID Camp, we began planning how we’d like the Powell River Kings roster to be built. Steph had a respectable playing career as well as BCHL coaching experience with Alberni Valley, but I thought at that time there was more he had to learn about the league, coaching and management. With the transition of team operations last fall, we knew there was a lot of work to be done and mid-season changes certainly led to more. My goal then was to assist this transition, lending an experienced and historical perspective. This all said, he’s really done a ton of work learning and familiarizing over the last 12 months. Having spent many years in the BCHL and with the Kings, I personally spent a great deal of time sharing knowledge and ideas designed to help both Steph and Glenn implement their action plan. While It’s never easy to make mid-season changes, we all feel now that going through this process last season puts us further ahead of the curve heading into a 2024-25 campaign with high expectations. I’m confident in the relationships that have been built since the beginning so I support our recent moves based on my own experience. I have observed since last year working closely with both of them, that Glenn and Steph have a significant history and they feed very well off each other. Clearly, Steph has an ability to work respectfully with those around him and both his dialogue and input with Glenn are very noticeable – he’s a team player no doubt about it, he’ll serve us well in both positions within an organization that is now much more cohesive. I can say without reservation that Steph is ready to take on his new roles and I’m excited to get to work with all of our new staff in their respective positions this year.”
As for Seeger Jr., he has moved to Powell River and says he is enjoying the community and its commitment to the Kings; he hopes the new proximity to the rink and players will enhance player and team related projects that he has been involved in from the outset. Management expects the new “bird’s eye” view from his perspective will complement the organization’s effort to keep the Kings on course to becoming a marquis team in the BCHL. The new GM and Associate Coach described his own evolving role, noting that “the Birch Group took over management of the team just prior to the start of last season and there was pressure to improve things including both the on-ice product as well as management of the team in the larger sense. There has always been concern for having more ‘boots on the ground’ in a small-market situation, which I knew under the circumstances would take some time. But the transition taught me a lot; when I first started, my main sounding board and mentor was Chad. Without him, I would not have been as poised to take on my first role as Assistant GM. He’s a person I would like to thank for being able to prove myself last year and being in the position to take on more this year. He really helped me take stock of key issues, especially the BCHL culture and rules from a management perspective. He also taught me a few tricks of the trade that came in handy in the second half of the season last year when our roster was in constant flux. Of course, when Coach came on board, the learning experience was taken up several notches for both Chad and I, which was not at all surprising to me. Coach is a special person, a teacher, a mentor and someone who I have learned from for many years. He has his own style; tough sometimes intimidating because he is a master of the game, but really sincere, with a tendency to challenge you to think things through. I think it goes without saying that I have a standing ‘thank you’ for all he has done for me. Collectively, last year we faced some unexpected adversity but I think it made us all a little wiser too.”
Asked specifically about his thoughts on being elevated to GM and taking on a role with Anderson on the bench, Stephan Seeger Jr. said: “Obviously I’m honoured, but there is still much that needs to get done. Focus cannot be lost in the excitement of it all. I am fully prepared based upon both Management and Coach’s expressed expectations of me, to begin contributing in these roles immediately. I share the view that a lot more goes into winning than just numbers, wins and losses, and putting skilled players on the ice. We establish a vision and incremental seasonal goals to realize it. As Coach says, visions change year by year depending on what you are working with in terms of players and team direction. Its something I have bought into under his tutelage over the years in my own career and most recently in the context of this project.
While the opportunity is hailed by others as well deserved, Seeger Jr. impresses with a work ethic that supports the changes. He notes: “I’m grateful for the opportunity and the confidence that Coach has placed in me. For now, I plan not to disappoint, while at the same time recognizing my own need to continue learning and drawing upon resources around me to keep improving. This includes our two new assistant coaches who I have and continue to learn from and share experiences with daily. Michael and Chris really round things off; their experiences and hockey knowledge have already made the transition easier and we are now living just blocks away from one another here in Powell River. I hope to see our fans at the rink and at pre-season camp and other team activities very soon. These are opportunities to get to know one another. And I really encourage fan and supporter introductions-always up for a handshake and a story and so are Chris, Michael and Coach, so don’t be shy, the Kings are Powell River’s team and we want everyone in the community to feel that.”
The official season is right around the corner. We can expect exciting new player additions, returning fan favorites, new uniforms, special events and new staff. When asked about whether a strong start to the season was expected, Team President Stephan Seeger Sr. didn’t predict wins or losses, saying: “I think we have what it takes to win and this will be noticeable early on sure, but ‘strong starts’ are also attributable to a stable support network as well. We have much to be thankful for and many to thank. The Birch Group’s efforts to produce a successful on-ice product are only part of a ‘strong start’ to the season. So much more goes into operating the Kings. For example, Billet Coordinator Aaron Reid has done an exceptional job housing our boys this year; placing an athlete in a family setting that is nurturing has both on and off-ice benefits. We tend to overlook these considerations in the context of what it takes to win, but if our boys don’t feel at home here its no secret their performance will be affected. Accordingly, her job and what she has accomplished is an indispensable part of a ‘strong start’ for me. Likewise, we have all of our volunteers to thank; gameday volunteers, bus drivers, bench assistants and equipment managers who do more than is expected of them day after day-they are all part of it. A ‘good start’ includes volunteers simply ‘returning’ and new volunteers ‘signing up.’ In particular, of course, none of it happens at all without the tireless efforts of the Powell River Kings Society and its new President Shaun Garvey, without whom the Kings would not have a ‘start’ at all this season. The dedication of all of these contributors should never go unnoticed by anyone interested in keeping our Kings here in Power River. I encourage fans and certainly our players to spare no chance to thank them all; kind words and gestures of thanks go a long way and also count as a contribution to the team. In short, with this year’s continued support network, we have already ‘started strong,’ without even playing our first game. The ‘good start’ on ice is now in the hands of our coaching staff and management and I have all the confidence in the world that collective efforts on that note will pay off.”
