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Grahame Hughes hired as Tikis new Head Coach - Recorder & Times
Jonathon Brodie - Recorder & Times
Grahame Hughes is well aware of how big the job is in front of him as the Brockville Tikis new head coach and it was still a position he went out and sought after.
As of right now, Hughes is the first big piece of the Tikis puzzle to forget about a disastrous last season where a large group of players walked out and the team posted .136 winning percentage. Hughes will be Brockville’s third head coach in less than a year.
Hughes admitted he doesn’t fully know the ins-and-outs of the Tikis 2015-16 troubles, but had heard there was going to be a lot of changes next year and he liked the fact he could put his own stamp on the team.
“We’re pretty much starting from scratch, so there’s a lot of work to be done,” said Hughes, who is the father of Braves Cameron Hughes. “I look at this as an opportunity to build something new and fresh and to really develop a program and make it exciting for the fans.”
The 54-year-old has been a coach in the Nepean Minor Hockey League at various levels, ranging from atom to midget, since 1999 and was the organization’s AA Coach of the Year in 2013-14.
Hughes also has “a lot of contacts” in the Ottawa area at the CCHL2 level, said Braves/Tikis owner Dustin Traylen.
Hughes primary goal will be to graduate players from the CCHL2 ranks to the Brockville Braves with the direction of the Junior B league heading towards a feeder system for the CCHL and Braves/Tikis ownership want to stay on track with that this year.
“He’s the most capable of putting a competitive team on the ice for next season and that’s a major area ownership acknowledged and we are willing to invest in that team this year,” Traylen said.
Hughes said he’ll be looking to change the culture of the Tikis next season and build an identity for the club consisting of, “hard working, focused, relentless, eye-on-the-prize-type of kids.”
The key to creating that identity, he added, will be bringing in the right teens. Hughes sees his roster consisting of a mix of local players, U18 Baby Braves graduates, elite prospects not quite ready for the Braves, and players the staff brings in.
Hughes said, the Tikis roster, “will obviously be a big turnover,” which means there is a lot of work ahead of him. He has already got things started and recently joined the Braves staff for last weekend’s CCHL Main Prospect Camp and the league’s midget draft this past Monday. Hughes will be at the Braves camp on May 6 and 7 in Cardinal.
“It’s going to be difficult and it’s going to be a challenge, there’s no doubt, but I look at it as an opportunity,” Hughes said. “I think the biggest thing I have to do at this time is do my diligence and do my work in scouting and recognize the right type of kids that should be coming into the program.”
