By Chad Klassen

Blazers new coach feels there’s good leadership in locker room

Jul 26, 2018 | 6:38 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s been a month since Serge Lajoie was named the new head coach of the Kamloops Blazers, and in that short time he’s been in touch with the players he’ll be leading behind the bench. 

“That was the first order of business,” said Lajoie, who’s in Calgary right now to help with the under-18 selection camp where one of his new players, Connor Zary, is taking part. “I wanted to introduce myself and see how their summers are going. I know there have been a lot of changes for them, and with change comes a little uncertainty.”

Lajoie says he’s just as nervious as the players likely are, experiencing the Western Hockey League for the first time as a head coach. Despite the Blazers mediocre trend over the last decade, missing the playoffs last year, Lajoie is shining some positive light on what he has in the locker room. 

“I think we’ve got some tremendous leaders coming with Jermaine Loewen and Luc Smith,” he noted. “No disrespect to the other players. I’m sure there’s a lot of character in that dressing room, but those are two players that jump out. The coaches are going to lean on them to show and model what is expected of a Kamloops Blazer.”

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Lajoie feels the goaltending is what they need if Dylan Ferguson doesn’t go pro this season. Lajoie, though, is also already looking ahead to the 2020 Memorial Cup, an event Kamloops has bid on along with Kelowna, Victoria and Lethbridge. He says the Memorial Cup bid certainly played a role in his decision to come here. 

“Just knowing Kamloops and the Kamloops organization, the tremendous job they do hosting any kind of event, so I know that, without knowing the details of the bid, it was a very strong bid and it will be strongly considered,” Lajoie noted. “That’s exciting. It would be nice to be able to work towards an opportunity to compete for a Memorial Cup.”