BY KEITH LACEY
DonÂ?t expect the status quo much longer with the Sudbury Wolves.
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Head coach and general manager Bert Templeton said itÂ?s obvious the Wolves have to make several changes to become a decent hockey club, and the current lineup simply isnÂ?t capable of getting the job done.
After yet another disastrous road trip over this past weekendÂ?the Wolves have failed to register a point in nine road gamesÂ?the team now sits with the worst record in the entire OHL at 4-12.
Templeton isnÂ?t one to shy away from criticism and puts a lot of the blame of the current difficulties at his own doorstep.
Â?At the end of last year, we had a lot of kids playing much better hockey than when they got here as rookies,Â? he said. Â?In this league, they either come back one year better or one year older and if you look at our club right now, I canÂ?t honestly say thereÂ?s one kid who is playing better than they were at the end of last year.
Â?I didnÂ?t think that would be the case and the responsibility ultimately lies with me. I obviously misread a lot of things.Â?
Templeton is willing to handle the criticism, but also isnÂ?t one to shy away from making changes when they are necessary.
And changes are going to have to be made very soon.
Â?The thing we donÂ?t want to do is run around and make a lot of changes just for the sake of making changes,Â? he said. Â?But constructive changes are needed.
Â?Do we have to make changes? Yes. Must we try and improve the chemistry of this team? Yes. Do we have players that have been disappointing? Yes. But the biggest thing we have to do is change the losing atmosphere around here.Â?
The Wolves were playing Â?decent hockeyÂ? before this latest road trip, but losing three straight to London, Plymouth and Windsor have convinced him the status quo simply isnÂ?t good enough, said Templeton.
The Wolves had Â?two bad draftsÂ? his first two years in Sudbury, and he and the scouts he hired are responsible, said Templeton.
Players from those two drafts should be experienced veterans leading the club this season, Â?but we donÂ?t have a single guy left,Â? he said.
The situation the club is in right now is particularly distressing because the majority of players are giving a decent effort on most nights, he said.
The concept of team hasnÂ?t yet been established as one night the defence will turn in a decent effort, but no one up front can generate offence, then the next night the defence is terrible, he said.
He expected most of the 14 rookies from last year to have improved dramatically, but most have taken a step backwards and some are no longer capable of playing in the OHL and those are the players most likely to be waived or traded, said Templeton.
Â?The bottom line is weÂ?re going to straighten this out and weÂ?re going to start winning,Â? he said.
Templeton said the long-suffering fans should expect several new faces in the lineup starting in the next few days.
The Wolves host Kitchener, one of the OHLÂ?s top teams, Friday night at the Sudbury Arena.
