Second-year assistant coaches Marr, Toma aim to hit ground running with Blazers

The Blazers are scheduled to open training camp on Friday [Aug. 28] at Sandman Centre.

Marr, from Kamloops, and Toma, from Ardrossan, Alta., were hired last June, both moving on from head coaching positions in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League to join the Blazers.

“Cluey [Blazers’ head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston] was great,” Toma said. “He was always kind of prepping us to be ready and giving us a few things to think about ahead of time. He really helped catch us up and let us know that, yeah, we don’t have time and it’s going to happen fast.”

Added Marr: “The reality of a coach is I don’t think a day ever really ends. We really want to be innovative with our ideas and I think that takes a lot of presence. Whether it’s your time at the rink or at home, ideas tend to pop up in your head.”

For the Blazers’ coaching staff, routine includes morning workout sessions that often begin at 6:30 a.m.

“We go out of our way every morning before the players arrive to get together and spitball ideas,” Marr said. “If it’s important for the players to be healthy, it’s important for us to be healthy. And a lot of those times, those workouts turn into discussion for the day or the week.”

The feeling-out process between coaches is over and there is much more familiarity with players.

“Last year, as a new guy, you’re building brand new relationships with everybody and that took a lot of your focus,” Marr said. “This year, we’ve got a lot of returning guys. Brayden and I have had one development camp with our younger guys, our drafted kids, so we know their faces coming into camp.”

Added Toma: “I know confidence can come from comfort, so that’s really important.”

Toma, 32, helps out more with forwards and the power play, while Marr, 42, tends more to defencemen and the penalty kill.

“That first year really helps you build for this,” Marr said. “We have three guys that are aligned, but think differently.”

Both Marr and Toma have been monitoring the off-season progress of players.

“They had an amazing summer,” Marr said. “We tracked their workouts this year probably to a higher degree than we ever have. The improvement and the commitment to it was astonishing.”

Marr said the coaching staff was also devoted to growth this summer.

“We made a commitment to spending more time [together] in the off-season than maybe a lot of staffs do,” said Marr, who played in the WHL for the Medicine Hat Tigers. “It was a casual environment, but we wanted to utilize every minute, every hour we had together. We recognize how important this year is going to be.”

The exodus of key players has often been the focus of fan discussion and media reports during this off-season, with the Blazers’ top five scorers among the departed.

Marr and Toma are more focused on the returnees.

“I think the main thing everyone’s forgetting to talk about is the fact that we’ve got 15 returning guys and that’s a really big chunk of your core,” Marr said. “That’s 15 guys who were part of our systems last year. They know what we expect, they know what our standard is and that’s huge to start a season.”

Added Toma: “We’re excited. There is some depth there, for sure, and the opportunity for guys to step up.”

by Marty Hastings

Second-year assistant coaches Marr, Toma aim to hit ground running with Blazers

Our Community