sports
T
here’s always a lot of excitement at the start of every IceMen season, but this year, it’s on a whole other level. Head Coach Al Sims took over the team last January, but it was a chaotic time for the franchise, and he simply didn’t have the opportunity to work his magic. Now, that’s all changed. With an unparalleled coaching resume peppered with championships and accolades not to mention his days as a NHL player with the Bruins, Whalers and Kings, Sims is the real deal. Simply put, the IceMen are in very good hands. Sims is busy preparing the team for their opening face-off with the Indy Fuel at the Ford Center on October 17, but he kindly took time to talk about the new season. Obviously, your resume speaks for itself. With all of your experience, what made you want to come to Evansville and coach the IceMen? I think it’s a challenge for me to come in and turn around a team that’s had four coaches in three years and a disappointing record and try to make it a success. You know, we get great crowds with limited success, and I can only imagine what it would be like if the team was
12 |
winning. That’s what we want to try to do this year and hopefully the next as well. Expectations are very high for this season. What are you doing differently from last year to turn things around? Being a coach who has won some championships, I know that those expectations can become real if everybody believes in them. Our expectation is to win a championship every year. We’ll try to get the players to believe by the halfway point of the season that this is something we can achieve. Obviously, you need the talent, and we’ve done a lot of searching this summer. We’ve brought three guys over from Sweden, two guys over from Czechoslovakia and one guy from France. We’ve gone all over the world to get players to come to Evansville. I think the fans will see an international product when we get on the ice for that first game on October 17, and they’ll enjoy watching players from different parts of the world. So the international players are the key to competing at the highest level this year? I think these guys that we have brought over should be good players at the ECHL level and better players than we are able to get here. The guys we’ve got coming – a goal tender, defenseman and a forward – should be impact players during the season. What’s your take on this season’s schedule for the IceMen? I think it’s fair to every team – looks like a good
October 2015 • www.evansvillemediagroup.com
one for us. The division we’re in is going to be hotly contested, and I like the way they’ve set it up with the different conferences and divisions. I think it’s going to help everybody with the travel – other than the Alaska trip, obviously (laughs). What are you hoping to see from your team for that first home game at the Ford Center? We want a lot of excitement. We want to play with a lot of energy, grit and determination – put on a display of physicality and a really good show. I hope the fans enjoy the team this year as much as we’ve enjoyed recruiting and putting all the players together. Playing before our type of crowd really pushes players to play their best. I think our crowd is probably the best sixth man in the league. IceMen vs. Indy: 10/17 @ 7:15 p.m. For tickets and more info, visit thefordcenter.com.