EVERETT — During Wednesday’s press conference at the Everett Events Center, at which Mark Ferner was introduced as the new head coach of the Everett Silvertips, there was one common thread as both Ferner and Tips general manager Doug Soetaert spoke at the podium:
Work ethic.
Ferner’s No. 1 demand from his players is that they play hard, and that will be his same message with the Silvertips.
The past four seasons Ferner build a dynasty with the British Columbia Hockey League’s Vernon Vipers, winning three league titles and two junior A Canadian national championships. His teams were characterized by their work ethic, and he plans on bringing that same style to the Tips.
“It was wave after wave after wave of the same thing, which was a tremendous amount of work ethic and compete level,” Ferner said about his teams in Vernon.
“We’ll be a hard-working team, we’ll be hard to play against and our group will have fun doing it.”
Ferner’s philosophies, which also include player accountability, coincide with those of Tips general manager Doug Soetaert. That was one of the main reasons Ferner was Soetaert’s choice to lead the Tips.
“(The work ethic) is what we want out of our players,” Soetaert said. “We had it two years ago, we lost it last year — which wasn’t because of our coach (Craig Hartsburg, who stepped down to become the associate head coach of the NHL’s Calgary Flames). Mark’s going to be able to maintain what we started to do, rebuild this thing with character, work ethic and commitment.”
Everett goaltender Kent Simpson didn’t know anything about Ferner previously, but he approved of Ferner’s emphasis on work ethic.
“I think that’s awesome,” Simpson said via cell phone from his home in Edmonton, Alberta. “That’s how people get better, through hard work. If you work hard the rest will come, so it’s a good place to start.”
Tips winger Tyler Maxwell, last season’s leading scorer, knew a little about Ferner. Two of his friends from California, forward Darren Nowick and defenseman Steven Weinstein, played for Vernon last season. So he has some familiarity with Ferner and his emphasis on work ethic.
“I think that’s a great thing to want to instill in a team,” Maxwell said from his home in Manhattan Beach, Calif. “Work ethic and compete level, those are the kind of things you need to win games.
“I think this is a good thing for the organization,” Maxwell added about Ferner’s hiring. “Obviously he has a good resume and he definitely has a will to win.”
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at NickHPatterson.
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