Hunt enjoying his time
Greg Harder, The Leader-Post
rPublished: Tuesday, October 16, 2007
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Time flies when you're having fun.
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The adage rings true for the Regina Pats, who are celebrating their 90th year as a major-junior franchise. It also befits Curtis Hunt, who became the third-longest-serving head coach in Pats' history during Saturday's 1-0 win over the Prince Albert Raiders.
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It was Hunt's 217th game behind Regina's bench, moving him past Bob Lowes on the all-time list.
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"I've got the best job in the world," reflected Hunt, who's in his fourth season with the Pats. "I coach the oldest (junior) franchise in history, I have great support from the top, a great staff to work with downstairs and we've got a great group of kids. Every day is a great day to come to the rink."
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Hunt's work is placing him in some elite company.
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He coached No. 218 on Sunday in Moose Jaw — a 4-0 loss to the Warriors — putting him just 22 games shy of Brad Tippett for second place on the Pats' career coaching list. It'll take a little longer to catch the legendary Bob Turner, who's on top with 499 games.
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In the meantime, there are more important milestones that warrant Hunt's attention.
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"I'd like him to move up the most-wins list," quipped GM Brent Parker. "That's the one we'd both like to see him go up."
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He's working on it.
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The Regina native was hired in 2004-05 after the team severed ties with Lowes. Hunt, who spent the previous three seasons with the arch-rival Warriors, arrived in Regina at the low point of a rebuilding movement, culminating in a 12-win season, the second-worst total in the history of the storied franchise.
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Since then, the Pats have made steady progress under Hunt, posting back-to-back winning seasons while advancing past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in nine campaigns.
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Now, three years and 218 games after his arrival, Hunt and GM Brent Parker have constructed a team which is expected to be among the league's elite. Not that they're stopping to smell the roses.
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"We tell our kids to stay in the present and I think it's important that we all do as an organization," said Hunt, who sports a record of 91-103-22 with the Pats — 73-50-12 in the past two seasons. "I give Brent credit. He has been patient. We had a tough year (in '04-05) but I think we're getting better every year. We certainly have some high expectations for our club right now and I'm always excited to move forward and continue to produce results."
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The Pats haven't had much stability behind the bench, as evidenced by the fact they've gone through 21 head coaches since Turner retired in 1976.
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Along the way, there have been several casualties of a profession which generally lives up to the motto "you're hired to be fired." Other high-profile coaches like Lorne Molleken, Rich Preston and Bryan Murray had short stints in Regina before landing pro jobs.
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"In junior hockey, you have a fairly regular turnaround just because you have guys moving on," noted Parker. "There are some places where guys have been around for a while but (Hunt) has been here for a bit now. It's nice that he's moving up that list."
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How much further he'll climb remains to be seen.
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Hunt's rapidly-expanding résumé includes a gold medal at the 2007 world junior championship as an assistant coach. He'll be back in the same role with Canada this winter.
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After that, there's no telling what opportunities may await.
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"Hopefully we have him for a long time, but we also recognize where he wants to go," said Parker, who signed Hunt to a contract extension last year which expires after the 2008-09 season. "Like our players, this is a development league, and if he gets opportunities to move up we'd be happy for him too."
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For his part, Hunt refuses to let his focus stray beyond the task at hand.
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"You look around at longevity, it's about winning," he added. "You take that challenge each and every day. But our role, I think, is bigger than winning. You're taking boys and you're hopefully creating responsible young men. At the same time, we want to put something special together to give our fans something to be proud of. That's a job I think we all share."
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