Cole eyes younger makeup for '08-09 Mariners

By Michael Gorman

THE VANGAURD

NovaNewsNow.com

Next season's Yarmouth Mariners squad will be younger and built to win for seasons to come, the team's general manager said last week.

Mark Cole said that while having nine 20-year-olds last season was part of the reason the team was so successful, it's an expensive formula for icing a team and makes building a roster for the following season very difficult.

"I don't want to get into a situation again of us having nine 20-year-olds," he said.

Cole said that the team would continue to pursue 20-year-olds, but he'd like to see that number kept around four or five. The blueprint Cole is working with now calls for a team comprised mainly of players that are 18 or 19.

"In the future I'll be trying to have more youth in the program," he said. "Right now we're just starting from the back end out. I'm not searching for a lot of 20s, I'm going to bring in a lot of 18 and 19-year-olds."

Another difference in the approach to putting the team together for the coming season — and seasons to come — is the fiscal approach. It was well documented that the team spent a lot of money last year. And while that produced a league title, Cole said it's not a sustainable way to run a hockey club.

"Last year, I mean, we just spent a lot of money," he said. "This year we're not going to spend that kind of money . . . The team will be strong this year. I'm going to have a strong team this year. Next season I'd like to try to build for a real big winner. This year we're going to load up with 18 and 19s and then next year we should be right back in the same place where we were this year."

It's an approach, said Cole, which is similar to the formula Woodstock is using to maintain success within the league. Simply put, the Mariners aren't going to be an easy mark for anyone in the coming season, but they also might not blow people out of the barn every night.

With eight of the team's 10 leading scorers not returning, Cole said he is actively talking with all players eligible to return. Chief amongst those returning are Jordan Scott, last year's second-leading scorer and goalie Dallas Ungurian.

"I'm in negotiations with all my players right now," he said.

Part of off-season preparations for teams will be the league's annual entry draft later this month and before that the dispersal draft for players from the Charlottetown Abbies. The team was granted a one-year leave of absence just last week and the dispersal draft is part of that agreement.

Cole said he doesn't expect the Mariners to benefit greatly from either draft. He said most of the additions he'll make to the team would be through free agent signings. He's spent the last while travelling to see players and work them out. Already he's starting to put together a list of new faces that will be in town come August.

"I just picked up a defenceman from Saskatchewan," he said. "A lot of my players, again, will be free agents that I bring in . . . We still have to go out there and bring in top guys and stay competitive. And, you know, the truth is, come January if we're in the hunt we'll look at making some more moves and see what happens then."

As for the other piece of business the club must figure out — its coaching situation — Cole said that should be settled soon.