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Coaching staff
rewarded
Wilson, Hunter and Zettler land new
deals
8/2/04 - By Mike Lee
A record
regular season and the longest playoff run in franchise history were two pretty
good reasons for Sharks head coach Ron Wilson and his coaching staff to be
rewarded. San Jose GM Doug Wilson made sure that was the case on Monday by
signing Ron Wilson, Tim Hunter and Rob Zettler to new two-year contracts, with
an option for a third year. Terms of the deal were not released.
San
Jose finished the 2003-04 season with a franchise record 104 points and earned
a birth in the Western Conference Finals before bowing out to Calgary in six
games. The turnaround was a feat worthy of reward, considering the franchise
that Wilson took over in December 2002 after Darryl Sutter was fired.
``We're still a young and developing team with lots of room to grow,'' said
Wilson. ``But to see the light go on for so many guys, that's really what
coaching is all about, when you see the kind of illumination from your
team.''
GM Doug Wilson made the right call in keeping Wilson on after
inheriting the Sharks from Dean Lombardi in the Summer of 2003. With plenty of
doubters forecasting several seasons of rebuilding, the tandem set out to make
the Sharks competitive that Summer.
``We wanted to change the way this team was going to
play,'' Doug Wilson said. ``There are very few coaches who have that
combination of fundamentals, detail and creativity. That was the first thing we
identified that we wanted in a coach, and Ron fits that.''
The Sharks
played their cards well that Summer, locking up all their free agents prior to
the start of training camp. Having a complete roster at the beginning of
September meant no distractions when the team was trying to find its identity.
It should come as no surprise that Wilson knows a thing or two about
hockey. He'll lead Team USA into battle at the upcoming World Cup of Hockey in
September.
Clear objectives and accountability were laid out for every
Sharks from the onset, and a Pacific Division Title would await San Jose seven
months later. On August 2nd, Wilson, Hunter and Zettler received a well earned
bonus.
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