Bruins hire new head coach and GM
By Gerry Foster
Flin Flon, a mining community in Northern Manitoba, is the only city named after a science fiction character. Josiah Flintabattey Flonatin is a prospector in a 1905 novel and from Flin Flon the Grand Forks Border Bruins have mined their new head coach and general manager, Brad Snyder.
Snyder has many years of experience coaching minor hockey, including the Junior A Flin Flon Bombers. The Bombers have a rich history in hockey producing the likes of Bobby Clarke and Reggie Leach. The legendary Clarke played 15 seasons for the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, winning the Hart Trophy as league MVP three times. Leach, for his part, also wore the Flyers jersey, and in the 1975-76 scored a remarkable total of 80 goals, 19 of them in the playoffs.
A veteran coach, Brad Snyder has won six gold medals leading teams in the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA). He was the coordinator for the MAHA in the Program of Excellence and also has experience as a Western Hockey League Scout and Director of Player Personnel. This will be an asset in the crucial area of recruiting.
He and his wife Bea are looking forward to living in Grand Forks. They had travelled in the region last year and he commented, “We fell in love with your area.” Snyder says his main assets are: knowledge of the game, communication skills, discipline, player development and motivation. Earlier this month he was in Grand Forks for a couple of days to meet with Bruins president, Martin Vanlerberg, and other board members. The long-time Flin Flon resident is looking forward to the challenge and believes the Bruins have a good nucleus of returning players. Supplementing the current roster with new recruits, Snyder believes “we can make the Border Bruins a competitive contender in the KIJHL.”
Flin Flon native, Reid Simpson, a veteran of over 300 NHL games, who now lives in Chicago, and was once coached by Brad Snyder had this to say in a recent phone conversation with a Bruins representative. “Although I was lucky enough to go on and have a long NHL career and I was (fortunate) enough to have coaches like Joel Quenville, Jacques Lemaire, Larry Robinson and Barry Trotz, Brad taught the same skills I needed to prepare myself to play at the higher levels. I believe (Brad Snyder) was in it for the right reasons, to develop young men at the pivotal time in their lives.”
The Bruins will enter their 44th season in the KIJHL with a new leader behind the bench. Not a character from a century old novel but one, who has a long history in hockey, and is eagerly anticipating being part of our community.
