News

By Pat Payton

Jim MacEachern and Greg Smale are passionate hockey people with extensive hockey backgrounds. And both men want to help rebuild the St. Marys Jr. ‘B’ Lincolns and make the long-time Western Conference franchise a winner again. MacEachern, a 50-year-old Kitchener resident, is the Lincs’ new Director of Hockey Operations/General Manager. He replaces Glen Childerley, who was relieved of his duties just before Christmas after spending a year and a half with the team. MacEachern is presently head coach of the Waterloo ‘AAA’ Major Midget Wolves, who sit in first place with an impressive 24-3 record.  He also has six years of Jr. ‘B’ coaching experience. He was head coach of the Guelph Jr. ‘B’ Hurricanes for three seasons, and was also GM during one of those years. During that tenure, MacEachern helped turn a seventh-place Hurricanes team into a first-place club in the Midwest Conference. He was an assistant coach with the Sugar Kings in Elmira as well. MacEachern also scouted for the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit. “To be honest with you, I think this is a very exciting opportunity,” MacEachern told the Independent last Friday night. “St. Marys has had some problems over the past several years, but if you look at this club historically they’ve had winning teams here. I believe that if can bring in the right people, we’ll have those good seasons again.”

Good recruiting needed

MacEachern says it’s going to take a lot of “good recruiting” to make Lincolns a contender again. “We have to form a lot of good relationships with people, and change the culture here for kids to want to come and play here,” he said. “To be honest, I think this is going to be a process. I’d love to say we’ll have a winner next year, but reality is that’s it’s going to take some time. It’s not a quick fix; we want to bring in the right people. We don’t want to set ourselves up for just one year, but a lot of years to come.” When he recruits a young hockey prospect, what kind of a player does he look for, MacEachern was asked.“ Character and skating are obviously important, but chemistry is also huge,” he replied. ”I will speak will all these (St. Marys players) who are here right now. There’s going to be a lot of interviewing going on in the next little while. I’ve already started next season for sure.” Lincs’ club president Brandon Boyd says about a dozen people applied for the Director of Hockey Operations job and four men were interviewed.

“Jim’s experience, passion and shared vision made him an ideal fit to lead our hockey operations team,” Boyd told the Independent. “He knows how to take a project and turn it into a winner. I am confident brighter times lie ahead.”

Smale new assistant GM

This past weekend, Lincs also announced that St. Marys native Greg Smale, 36, is the Lincs’ new assistant GM. He says he and MacEachern are on the “same page” and share the same hockey philosophies. “As far as our philosophies go and our approach on how we want to rebuild this team, we’re very similar,” Smale said. “He’s a very passionate guy and I’m a passionate guy. I think his experience and his connections are going to serve this team well.

“Jim has the overall vision how he wants to steer the ship. He’s going to delegate roles, but overall we’re all responsible for scouting and recruiting and identifying potential players for this organization. It’s going to be everybody working together towards the same goal.” Smale is also excited about his new role with the team. “To work for your home-town Junior team, that’s where you want to be and that’s where my heart has always been,” he said. “To help rebuild this team and put it back where it was many years ago, it’s an exciting opportunity for me.” Altogether, Smale has coached 15 seasons in the St. Marys minor system. Several years ago, he had great success at the Midget level which attracted interest from Mitchell Jr. ‘C’ Hawks, who hired him as assistant coach and GM. He also spent a year with the Huron-Perth ‘AAA’ Minor Bantam Lakers. This season, Smale is bench boss of the Home Building Centre A-E Peewees in St. Marys.  “Every experience I’ve had in this game has prepared me for what I’m going to do now,” he said. With these men in place, president Boyd says he’s excited about the team’s future. “With these two new hires (MacEachern and Smale), along with our Director of Scouting Rick Smith and the entire scouting staff, we are well positioned to not only significantly improve the calibre of players, but also the complete player experience in St. Marys going forward,” Boyd said. “They’re all work horses.”

Paul Gaudet has also been added to Lincs’ management staff as Director of Player Personnel. He’s coached in the Waterloo ‘AAA’ minor hockey system for years, has been Director of Player Development with the Wolves’ Midget program the last three years, and is a trusted colleague of MacEachern’s.

Notes:

--Jim MacEachern played four years of Jr. ‘B’ hockey, three in Guelph and one in Waterloo.