Jerome Bechard: We were a very weak emotional hockey team
The 2015-2016 Columbus Cottonmouths finished last among the Southern Professional Hockey League’s nine teams. The Snakes failed to make the playoffs for the first time in their 12-year SPHL tenure and the fourth time in the franchise’s 20 seasons. Cottonmouths coach and general manager Jerome Bechard sat down with Kathy Gierer earlier this week to review the season.
Q: If you could describe this season in a single word, what would it be?
A: Disappointing. We had expectations after finishing second last season and getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. I knew we were young, but injuries, call-ups and suspensions hurt.
Q: How disappointing was it to miss the playoffs for the first time in your 12 SPHL seasons?
A: I’m disappointed in myself for the outcome. We were thrown so many curveballs. We made mistakes, but I stand by my team. We just couldn’t catch any traction. Since we’re one of the cornerstones of the league, it hurts. We’re a nine-team league and only one doesn’t make it. That makes it worse.
Q: Looking back on the season, let’s start with injuries. It’s amazing that Ben O’Quinn was the only player to appear in all 56 games.
A: He was banged up too. We had so many little injuries — concussions, shoulders, wrists, knees.
Q: How did the ECHL call-ups of so many players — Shawn Bates, Louis Belisle, Brandon Jaeger, Tyler Henry and Patrick McCadden — affect your team’s performance?
A: It was the timing of the call-ups. Bates, Belisle and McCadden were all second-year guys we counted on heavily. They were gone at the same time and left big holes to fill. The mistake I made was trying to fill holes with what I had while waiting for these guys to come back. To try to find a high-end guy to make an impact is pretty tough. Here was our season in a nutshell: Simchuk comes off suspension and scores two goals in two games. Then he breaks his finger and is gone and Bates leaves to go back to Tulsa. We lost both of them in the same day.
Q: Injuries and call-ups made this an unusually unstable roster with 40 different players, far above your usual 22-29. How did this roster flux impact your team?
A: It took us a long time to establish a team mentality. We were constantly still falling back to our old ways, trying to do too much instead of just making the simple pass.
Q: Though Levi Lind played part of the season, you had no other veterans on the roster. In light of the large number of rookies you played (22 for the season) do you regret the decision to not utilize your three veteran spots?
A: Yes and no. The veterans I’m looking for have to be the right guys who are playing the game for the right reasons. The vets we’ve had in the past have become veterans while they were here. It’s hard to bring someone in who is a veteran and wonder how long they’ll be here.
Q: Craig Simchuk’s hit on Peoria goalie Kyle Rank resulted in a 28-game suspension for him and six games for you. Accusations levied by Peoria coach Jean-Guy Trudel that you ordered the hit further inflamed the situation. How unsettling was this incident for your team?
A: It affected us tremendously, though not my suspension or the accusations. It took Simchuk out of our lineup. He can scrap, hit and score. We had a tough time in our physical game. He’s an emotional leader on our team.
Q: Your team struggled out of the gate, which has become the norm for you. But, unlike other seasons, this year you were never able to put together a long winning streak. Why not?
A: Every time something positive happened, somebody was taken out of the lineup. Still, with 16 or 17 guys all playing the same way, we should have been fine. Our locker room was emotionally drained. We were feeling sorry for ourselves.
Q: The offense never got on track, scoring only 124 goals in 56 games, a new SPHL record, and an average of only 2.21 goals per game. Why did the offense never hit its stride?
A: It was a combination of things. No continuity in the lines. Each line wasn’t healthy. No physical presence. We also sat back a lot and tried to play defensively. When we were attacking, we had success.
Q: The defense was inconsistent and porous, allowing many odd-man rushes and breakaways which put so much pressure on your goaltenders. Was this a problem with pairings, timings or getting caught out of position?
A: When the offense was not going, we tried to do too much. If we sat back and contributed defensively, it would have been a lot better. It was a young corps, finding their way. We also played many games with five defensemen or even 4.
Q: For the first time in 12 seasons, Cottonmouths goalies both finished out of the top 10 in the SPHL. Jaeger was 11th and Shannon Szabados 14th. How would you assess their performances this season?
A: If you talk to both, they’re not happy with their statistical performance. I stand by both of them. We didn’t lose games because of our goaltending. They gave us the opportunity to win every night. There were maybe five games that the goalies had an impact on the outcome. We probably gave up the most shots in the league.
Q: Certainly there was no home ice advantage this season with a stunning 8-13-3 record. What happened at home this year?
A: I have no idea. We were almost .500 on the road. I’ve never seen it before and don’t know why. Our penalty kill on the road was 95 percent and at home 75 percent. Possibly it was our schedule. A handful of times we had a road game on the weekend before we came home. We were a very weak emotional hockey team. If we scored first and then they came back and scored, our whole demeanor changed. In the second period that happened a lot. Then in the third we would regain our composure.
Q: Will signing an enforcer be a top priority for next season? This team didn’t play tradition style Columbus Cottonmouths physical hockey, amassing only 826 PIM.
A: I think Al Graves did a really good job and played his role well. I anticipate his being back. Not many guys will have a solidified spot on my roster next year. No matter who it is, nobody will be given anything. They’ll have to come in with a hungry attitude. Hockey is changing a lot. It’s hard to find an enforcer who knows when to fight and when to just put fear into guys. Graves is playing now in the FHL playoffs which will be good experience for him. He can work on his game and work on his confidence. We were not as physical as we needed to be. The defensemen and forwards would hit sporadically. Simchuk was the leader up front. If we played physical whether making big hits or little hits, we win.
Q: If you could go back and change one move or decision, what would it be?
A: Making an impactful move. What held me back was that two of my best players (Bates and Belisle) were in the ECHL. The carrot was dangled: if we can get these guys back, we’re OK. I should have made a move.
Q: Finally, you’ve served in the dual role as both head coach and general manager for 12 years. Have you thought of giving up one or both jobs?
A: It always comes up. Two years ago, the front office wasn’t running the way it should and we finished in second place on the ice. This year we’ve got a great office staff and the hockey part didn’t work out. Next year I want to get both of my teams running. As painful as this year has been, all of our fans, the staff and players are looking to me for answers. I feel I let people down, but I’ve been around here long enough that this community knows what I stand for.
This story was originally published April 16, 2016 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Jerome Bechard: We were a very weak emotional hockey team."