Becanic gets the nod
Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, May 30, 2007
To the surprise of no one, the Silvertips named John Becanic their new head coach today. Becanic, who had been Everett’s associate head coach, was the natural first choice to succeed Kevin Constantine. When the Tips scheduled the announcement of their new head coach just two days after Constantine stepped down — far too little time to have conducted an extensive search for a new candidate — it left Becanic as the only feasable candidate.
The main thing the hiring of Becanic does is provide continuity in the organization. Becanic was Constantine’s top assistant ever since the franchise began play in 2003, so he’s well versed with the ins and outs and expectations of the franchise, as well as the people (players, front office, etc.) he’ll be working with.
What I think may not be known about Becanic is how strong his credentials are for the job. He already has head coaching experience with this age group, having six seasons as a head coach in U.S. Junior A leagues. He (along with new associate head coach Jay Varady) also hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves for the rise of the Silvertips. Constantine was the public face of the coaching staff and received the lion’s share of the credit, but Becanic and Varady did a ton of work behind the scenes, work that wasn’t always acknowledged for what it was worth (I bear some of the responsibility for that, but Becanic and Varady weren’t previously available to the media, which kind of hampered things).
The question most Silvertip fan probably have is, “Does this mean the new Silvertips will play the same style as the old Silvertips?” Undoubtedly there will still be a premium put on defensive responsibility and work ethic. Since Becanic worked primarily with the defensemen, I suspect the defensive foundation will remain the same. But I wouldn’t be surprised to see the forwards given a little more leeway to take initiative for creating offense. It certainly won’t be the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s, but it might be a little more open.
Anyway, I’m glad Becanic got the job. He’s a good guy — extremely friendly and gregarious — and he’s definitely earned his opportunity. Just don’t let those post-game interviews get too long, John, some of us have deadlines to meet. 😉
