Dwyer named Sea Dogs head coach

Gordie Dwyer is the new head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The Dalhousie, NB native was introduced as the team's new bench boss at a press conference Wednesday morning at TD Station. Dwyer, a former QMJHL and NHL player, has major junior coaching experience with the PEI Rocket/Charlottetown Islanders and Shawinigan Cataractes.

Reports began surfacing last week that Greg Gilbert would not return to Saint John's head coaching role for the 2021-22 season. While those reports were new, the decision to bring in a fresh head coach came through an evaluation of the organization throughout the off-season.

While the Sea Dogs never publicly said they were looking for a new head coach, there was plenty of interest in the position according to team president and general manager Trevor Georgie.

What made Dwyer stand out among other candidates? Georgie repeatedly noted that Dwyer's communications skills along with his intensity and engagement levels made him the ideal fit for the role. His familiarity with the QMJHL and the Maritimes didn't hurt either.

"He's someone that seems to really, when's he's into something, really throws everything he has into it," said Georgie.

"You need people that are all in. I got the sense that he's beyond all in if he's taking this role. I like that."

With training camp and pre-season just a couple weeks away, Dwyer will quickly be pushed into his new role. Georgie said he wants Dwyer to take time to properly assess the team, adding that previous roles players were used in won't matter with a new bench boss coming in.

What would Georgie like to see from Dwyer in the early goings of the 2021-22 campaign?

"Intensity. Holding guys accountable. I'd like to see some of our defensive woes be cleaned up. It's not a matter with this group if they can, it's a matter of if they're willing," Georgie said.

"(Gordie's) greatest impact is getting them to a point where they're willing. That will make the biggest difference."

Dwyer said one of his priorities is developing a team identity. 

"When I look at our team the first thing that stands out is our roster and the talent that we have," said the 43-year-old. "For me, speed and skill, they're weapons, that's today's game, that's the progressive game. But at the same time we're going to need to develop a team identity of who we are collectively as a group and how we play collectively night in and night out." 

Standing behind a podium in the team's dressing room and addressing Sea Dogs office staff and media, Dwyer said, as a coach, the most important aspects for him are team identity, development, communication and compete.
 

"The most important thing for me as a coach is compete. That has to be at the forefront. That's by design. Our team needs to practice in a competitive environment and our team needs to play competitively. That's something that's really important to me as a coach and that's something that I really value."

Dwyer said he'll be reaching out to returning players and prospects before the start of training camp.

THE DEFENSIVE PLAY

It's hardly a secret that Saint John's biggest flaw over the past few seasons has been the team's defensive play. How does Dwyer plan to address that?

"The best defense is good offense but at the same time we want to play faster, we want to be competitive and we have to have a plan to get the puck back as quickly as possible. That starts in practice. It's a mindset. Everyone has to be willing to defend. At the end of the day we want to play with the puck so we're going to try to get the puck back as quickly as possible."

ALL IN

Saint John's 2022 Memorial Cup bid package will be sent to the CHL this week. Whether they win the bid or not, the team is committed to winning this season - and next.

"If we don't win the bid we're still going to try to win this year - and we're still going to try to win next year," said Georgie. "That doesn't change. If we get the bid we're still going to try to win this year and we're still going to try to win again next year."

GILBERT STAYING WITH TEAM

Gilbert, who was hired last summer as the team's head coach and led the Sea Dogs through the pandemic season of 2020-21, will be staying with the team in some sort of hockey operations advisory role. The details on the new situation are still being worked out.

"Greg has a lot of knowledge, a lot of great hockey knowledge and a lot of great experiences," said Georgie. "I've enjoyed working with Greg."