Storm moves on
By Tony Saxon, Guelph Mercury
A new voice was running the show at the Guelph Storm practice Tuesday.
General manager Mike Kelly donned the skates and ran much of the two-hour practice, one day after he fired head coach Jason Brooks.
Emotionally, tactically or physically, it will take the team some time to adjust to someone calling the shots.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in,” said Tyler Carroll, the only player Brooks called Monday after being fired.
“He woke me up from a nap. I didn’t really believe it.”
Brooks was a big part of why Carroll is on the Storm team and the two were close. He called Carroll and asked him to let the other players know he was done.
“He was my mentor. He brought me into the league,” Carroll, 20, said.
But Carroll realizes it’s “part of the business” and the team has to move on.
“We’ve still got a hockey game to play on Thursday,” said Carroll.
The Storm is in Windsor Thursday, Kitchener Friday and home against Kitchener Saturday afternoon. Then they break for 11 days.
Veteran defenceman Tim Campbell said he owes a lot to Brooks.
“He was a big part of why I was drafted and he helped me a lot,” Campbell said.
“But I guess it was time for some changes and that’s part of the business. We’ve got to keep moving on.”
Campbell called Brooks’s firing an “eye opener.”
“It goes to show you that no matter who you are or how old you are, you’re not safe.”
Kelly ran several drills at yesterday’s practice. Assistant coaches ran others.
