LEWISTON – There will be no ice hockey in Lewiston for another 125 days. In that span, all of the local high schools will start and complete spring sports schedules, this year’s class of seniors will glide up the aisle to “Pomp and Circumstance,” and the state will ostensibly see temperatures stay above 65 degrees for more than one afternoon.
The Lewiston Maineiacs, however, will not have a summer of fun in the sun without a little bit of extra work to go along with it.
“They can take a week or two off,” said Maineiacs coach Clem Jodoin. “But then it’s back to work, you know, like lifting weights and getting stronger, add some pounds, just working on conditioning. That will be the most important thing. Talent is one thing, but we have to develop that talent by working hard.”
The summer will also give Jodoin a chance to switch his own role, from head coach to general manager.
During the season, much of the scouting and recruiting was handled in the scouting department, but now Jodoin will get to be hands-on.
After the season concludes in May, the league will hold an expansion draft for the two new clubs joining the league, and then the league’s entry draft will follow.
“The thing is, we’ll sit down with the scouts,” said Jodoin. “Like I told you, I am not a one-man show. It’s all teamwork, and as a team we have to sit down and say, Okay, what do we want to do? Which direction do we want to go?’ We have to come up with a plan for this year, next year and three years. It won’t be a one-man show.”
Several questions still linger heading into the off-season, questions surrounding Jonathan Paiement, Alexandre Picard and the other 20-year-olds-to-be Brandon Roach, Colby Gilbert, Derek Bailey and Ryan Murphy. As a rule, the team is allowed just three.
To help shore up as much doubt as possible, Jodoin will meet individually with each player Saturday.
“There are a lot of things I will tell them in the next three days,” said Jodoin. “We’ll talk about the 20-year-olds next year and about another European player coming in. I will sit down with each player.”
With each meeting there will also be a warning: Do the work, because we’ll be watching.
“As a plan, summertime, I wouldn’t be surprised to see us, once a month, go to, say, the Maritimes, or to Montreal,” said Jodoin. “Let’s bring them up to a gym and see how they are doing. It’s very easy to check on them, and we will.”
Part of the reason for that, according to Jodoin, is his desire to reduce the number of injuries, which he called a symptom of weakness.
“I wouldn’t like to go through the same thing next year,” said Jodoin. “I hope we are going to be healthy. They were all bad injuries. You look at every one of them, I, just don’t know. It’s hard to explain. It’s a sign of weakness, though. The off-ice program has to help them with that.”
In August, training camp will also take on a different look. Instead of inviting 60-plus players, Jodoin plans to pare the number down.
“Training camp will not be as big as it was last year,” said Jodoin. “Forty-eight players. I don’t want more than 48 players, because I don’t want guys to come down for a hockey school, I want them to come down for a training camp, to make that team.”
For all of the ups and downs this season, and even though the team’s record was nary an improvement over last season’s mark, Jodoin was, in fact, pleased with the progress.
“For my first year, I am glad with what I saw,” said Jodoin. “I am glad, very, very glad. The atmosphere, the chemistry. Nobody is bigger than the game, which is very important. If you are good in one aspect, try to bring it to the organization the best you can.
“I would say as an organization, we are still growing, we are still learning,” continued Jodoin. “On the hockey side, yes, there is a good future, but there are a lot of things that have to be organized around the hockey, some details of the game. It’s still a cultural adventure to bring Quebec Major Junior League hockey to the United States. The fans are just learning to discover it, even though the product has been here for two years.”
Even with no ice on the Colisee floor (the melting ice was piled high Thursday morning), Jodoin’s thoughts remained of hockey, of the Maineiacs and their fans, and of the future of the team and the organization.
“This is good. If we don’t have any fans, there’s no hockey,” said Jodoin. “We need our fans, we need their support, and we need them to bring some other fans, and this is the way the team and the organization will grow. Also, I would like to thank the city, which has been behind this team. They have been really involved. The owners, Mr. Just, all of them. You have to love the game, you have to enjoy the game. “
Comments are no longer available on this story