Mooseheads head coach named first-time GM

By Philip Croucher - The Weekly News
He has been involved in high-level hockey for most of the past 25 years, and Cam Russell plans on using this experience for the added responsibility of general manager with the Halifax Mooseheads.
The 40-year-old Cole Harbour resident - in his third season as Halifax's head coach - was named a first-time GM last month when Mooseheads majority owner Bobby Smith fired Marcel Patenaude from the position after nine years at the helm.
Russell called Patenaude's firing "a difficult day" as the two were "good friends," but is excited about now carrying both the head coach and GM label and the challenges it will bring.
"I've been kind of learning the ropes," Russell said of his first few weeks in the GM position. "It hasn't been too involved so far because it's a quiet time of the year.
"The biggest difference right now is the administrative side of things, but I have good people helping me out."
Russell won't get to truly show off his GM abilities until after the season, as the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's trade deadline remains frozen until the midget draft in June. It will be at the draft Russell can start putting his stamp on the roster.
"Yeah, there's some changes we'd like to make," Russell said. "We want to have the right players in here to make sure we have honest, hard-working teams."
Before any of these decisions get made, Russell's focus is on the rest of the regular season and getting into the playoffs. After falling flat in the third round of last year's playoffs with a team many felt was the best in the league, Halifax is in a rebuilding phase this season and is in last place overall.
But the Mooseheads aren't out of the playoff picture and could get in by stringing some wins together over the final five weeks of the regular season.
"You hear people say tomorrow is going to be a big game - every game has been a big game for us all season long," said Russell, a former National Hockey League defenceman. "We have to be on a mission. We have to continue to play every game like it's a Game 7."
With the Mooseheads easily the hottest sports ticket in town, there is a lot of pressure on the coach and/or general manager to deliver an entertaining product to fans. This is even more so for a local product like Russell, but he isn't fazed by it.
"I'm from the city. My family lives here, so that motivates me even more to do my job well," he said. "If things don't work out here, I'm not going to move away.
"It just gives you an extra push to do better."
pbcroucher@hotmail.com