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Rising star Ward destined for NHL job:
Abbotsford coach quickly turns into top teacher

Vicki Hall, Calgary Herald April 12, 2012

Apologies, self-recrimination and promises for a better future dominated general manager Jay Feaster’s eulogy for the 2011-12 edition of the Calgary Flames.

Understandably. After three straight seasons out of the playoffs, the fans in these parts want — no, demand — accountability and answers.

But amid the extensive analysis of the negative, Feaster took time to list the (limited) sunny side of a season to forget. Forward Roman Horak made the team out of training camp. At 27, Derek Smith established himself as an NHL defenceman. So did 21-year-old T.J. Brodie. Youngsters Lance Bouma, Blair Jones, Paul Byron, Sven Baertschi and Akim Aliu all received special mention.

And then there’s the man Aliu credited for resurrecting his dying hockey career.

“We believe, on a positive side, that we have one of the best development coaches in the game in Troy Ward and the staff he has assembled in Abbotsford,” Feaster told reporters assembled in the bowels of the Scotiabank Saddledome. “He is an excellent teacher. He is a great motivator.”

Ward specializes in reclamation projects as the head coach of the Abbotsford Heat. He loves the challenge of working with kids that others have counted out in their quest to make it to the National Hockey League.

Case in point: Aliu. The 22-year-old arrived in Abbotsford in January as a castoff from the Winnipeg Jets, Ward took the former bad boy under his wing. He told him to get a haircut. Buy new clothes.

Like it or not, Aliu had to play in a checking role on the third line. Mastering two-way hockey was a must.

In the end, Aliu played the last two games of the season in Calgary, registering two goals and an assist.

More importantly, he created absolute havoc on the ice and drove the Anaheim Ducks absolutely quackers in the season finale.

“Troy saw the talent he had right off the bat,” Feaster said. “Troy brought him along to the point he came up here and played two really solid games for us and now has put himself into the mix as we go into training camp next season.”

For the Calgary Flames, the season is over and done. For Abbotsford, the playoffs start next week with home-ice advantage up for grabs this weekend in two games against the Toronto Marlies.

The coaching situation in Calgary is up in the air with Brent Sutter’s contract set to expire after three years. Sutter has made it perfectly clear he wants to come back next season and take care of unfinished business.

Regardless of whether Sutter stays or goes, Ward has worked his way into the discussion for NHL job vacancies this summer in Calgary or other parts unknown.

“That’s the dream,” says Ward, 49. “That’s what I’ve been pushing for.”

The push began in North St. Paul where a young Troy Ward stayed up in bed each night to look outside his window and watch the neighbour kids play hockey on Casey Lake.

“My mom told me I would make my dinner plate into a hockey rink,” he said. “If she gave me mashed potatoes, I would push them all over and that would be the boards. The pea would be the puck. And I would sit there and play with my food like it was a hockey rink.”

The hockey-mad kid grew up to play Division 3 at the University of Wisconsin — Eau Claire — far short of his dream of playing for the Minnesota North Stars.

Nearing the end of his time in school, Ward discussed his future with then coach Wally Akervik.

“Well, now what are you going to do?” the coach asked.

“Well,” Ward replied. “I think I’m going to be an NHL head coach. “

“Are you serious?” Akervik said, laughing.

“Yeah I am, “ Ward replied. “I think I have the ability.”

Akervik told Ward he should never stay in one place for more than two or three years. He took that advice to heart, working as a coach for more than two decades at various outposts in the NCAA, USHL, IHL, ECHL and AHL. Holding a Master’s Degree in sports administration, Ward served as an assistant behind the bench for the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1997-2000.

“That was the best education I ever had in coaching,” he said. “To sit on the ice and work individually with Jagr, Kovalev, Lemieux, Francis — you’re talking a major education.”

Teaching is Ward’s calling card in Abbotsford. At the rink most days by 4. a.m., he prepares for hockey much like a football coach complete detailed game plays and non-stop analysis of video with assistants Cail MacLean, Luke Strand and Jordan Sigalet.

“Troy spends a ton of time at the rink,” said Heat forward Carter Bancks. “The amount of preparation all our coaching staff does is intense. It’s tough not to respect that, because you know how much they care.

“Troy lets you know where you’re at. If you ever want to walk into his office and ask him what’s up or just chat with him, he’s very open with you. Very honest. That’s something you like about a coach. You know what you’re getting He makes you feel good when you’re playing well, and he’ll pump you up. He’s doesn’t brutally rip you.”

There’s not much to rip these days with the Heat reaching 40 wins for the first time in the franchise’s three-year history and the playoffs just around the corner.

Not bad for a club ravaged by injuries in Abbotsford and constant player recalls from Calgary.

“We devastated that team,” Feaster said. “Every time we recall a player to come here because of an injury, they’re scrambling and he’s kept that group together.

“To now have them sitting in fourth spot and looking to try to clinch home ice in the first round, I can’t say enough about the job that he and his staff have done.”