Tisdale Trojans name Dennis Kubat new head coach

Kubat told northeastNOW adding the title of ‘Trojans Head Coach’ sounded good to him since it has been his goal for nearly six years.

“When I started coaching in Hudson Bay with the PeeWee team there, I made it one of my goals to eventually move to Tisdale and take over the Trojans one day,” Kubat said. “Getting the opportunity last year – thanks to Darrell for bringing me on board – and being able to get the chance to help out and be an assistant coach for the Trojans and learn what it takes to coach at this level from Manner, (Colin) Ruether, and Gary (Janke).”

When the Trojans parted ways with Mann, and Ruether and Janke left the team, Kubat wasn’t sure if he was going to stick around in Tisdale as an assistant or get an opportunity to be the head coach.

When it was time to hand in applications, Kubat thought he had a good chance to get the gig with the Trojans based on his Junior A playing experience with the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League from 2005 to 2008, head coaching experience in Hudson Bay and with the North East Wolfpack Bantam AA team. Already knowing the Trojans organization was a bonus.

“I’ve been a student of the game since I was 18,” he said. “Honestly, I didn’t really enjoy playing as much as I did watching the strategies. Ever since that age, I looked at each coach along the way and kind of took what I liked from each one and started my own little resume of what I’d want to do if I had the chance to be a head coach.”

“Accountability is a big word of mine. It’s more than just building a hockey player. I kind of want to build the whole person. That comes from making sure you’re going to school and being accountable there, in the weight room, to other players on the team, and making sure you’re showing up for practices and games ready to go. Set a high standard and give them their best opportunity coming out of our program to make it to the next level.”

Kubat is also an educator at Tisdale Middle & Secondary School. Along with his AAA midget experience last season, he believes knowing how to connect with the younger generation will help him as a head coach.

“Developing the relationships with those guys last year and knowing what it takes to get through a AAA midget season, I think I can have a really good ability to relate to players and get the best out of them,” Kubat said. “Each kid kind of needs their own way to motivate them; knowing you respect them and care more about them than just going on the ice and producing for you. You actually develop a relationship with them and want what’s best for each of them.”

Looking ahead to the 2019-20 SMAAAHL season, Kubat as the new head coach won’t be the only massive change for the Trojans. A large roster overhaul is expected and both Kubat and Mann said previously there may only be four players returning.

An assistant coach at the time, the Tisdale Trojans’ new head coach Dennis Kubat (left) celebrates with (left to right) assistant coach Colin Ruether, captain Luke Arndt, assistant coach Gary Janke, and head coach Darrell Mann after winning the Telus Cup Western Regionals (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

Both goaltenders, starter Tanner Martin and backup Bryson Garton, have aged out.

On defense, captain Luke Arndt has aged out, Dylan Ashe has signed with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League (WHL), and Landon Kosior appears ready to move up another level after winning the Adam Herold Memorial Award and leading all SMAAAHL defensemen in scoring.

Up front, five forwards (Connor Long, Liam Rutten, Dawson Schaff, Colby Vranai, and David Wiens) have aged out, leading scorer Cade Hayes has signed with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL, and 2002-born forwards Trenton Curtis and Kalen Ukrainetz seem ready to take the next step as well.

Kubat is okay with the overhaul. He credited Mann for listening to his opinion during the Trojans’ Spring Camp regarding which players they should bring back next season.

“We’re going to be young,” Kubat said. “We’re only going to have four to six guys back, but that’s exciting. You get to put the stamp on your team your way and build again for years down the road. Yeah, we were young last year, but at the end our young guys turned into some of our best players.”

“We’ll have a big chance to grow as a team as the year goes on, and that’s exciting when you have young guys that want to come in, improve, and make it to the next level,” he added.

Coaching and management will also be noticeably different for 2019-20. Mann served as both the Trojans’ head coach and general manager, while Kubat will only be the head coach. However, Kubat said he’s familiar with the Trojans’ new general manager Cole Simpson, a member of the 2002 Trojans that won the Air Canada Cup as national midget hockey champions. Since he got hired, Kubat said he and Simpson have developed more of a relationship and are on board with the Trojans’ direction.

“If I ended up getting the job by myself, he’d have been the first person I’d call to see if he’d want to help me out,” Kubat said. “It’s awesome that I don’t even have to call him. We probably aren’t going to agree on everything, but that’s what makes a good relationship.”

Kubat still needs to decide who his assistant coaches will be and he has no predictions on a win total for the 2019-20 season or if the Trojans can replicate the success of their Telus Cup appearance.

The one goal Kubat will have for the entire season is to get better every day.

“If we do that throughout the year, who knows what can happen,” he said. “I’m really liking these guys we’re bringing in. When you can bring in five captains from previous teams, I think that’s huge. I think we’ll impress some of the other teams that may not know what’s coming here with some of our guys.”

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow

by Aaron Schulze

Tisdale Trojans name Dennis Kubat new head coach

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