Veteran coach Molleken gets his return to WHL with Vancouver Giants

Lorne Molleken expressed a desire to coach again – preferably in the WHL – almost from the time he left the Saskatoon Blades’ bench.

One of the league’s winningest coaches got his wish Monday as the Vancouver Giants officially made him their sixth coach in team history. A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday.

“It was a long winter last year,” Molleken said in a phone interview from Vancouver. “I’m real excited to be back coaching again. After doing it for basically 27 years, I really missed it.”

Molleken joins a team he nearly signed with last fall.

He and Giants’ brass were in talks last November and an interim head coaching position was presented after Troy Ward was fired.

However, with term left on his contract with the Blades, Molleken declined and Claude Noel was brought in to finish off the season.

The Giants now chose Molleken over a group of coaches they were reportedly interested in, headlined by Memorial Cup winners Ryan McGill and Ted Nolan.

“I contacted (Vancouver general manager) Scott (Bonner) immediately after Claude and the Giants parted ways,” Molleken said. “Sometimes I look back and wish I had taken the job in November when they let Troy Ward go. But the timing wasn’t right.

“I feel fortunate to have this opportunity again.”

Molleken, 59, returns to a WHL bench after two seasons off.

It’s a move that, given his track record, won’t be met with unanimously rave reviews.

Molleken stepped down as head coach of the Blades after their topsy-turvy season as Memorial Cup hosts in 2013.

It was a campaign that admittedly drained the veteran coach and general manager as he watched his team endure the highest of highs and the lowest of lows.

The Blades won just two of their first seven games and were 12 points out of first place in the East Division by the start of January.

Molleken was forced to completely revamp his lineup, making 13 trades from the conclusion of the 2011-12 season until the deadline.

The Blades were still on the playoff bubble nearing the end of January, leading to speculation they could actually be removed from the Memorial Cup.

They then won a franchise-record 18 straight games, only to be swept in the first round of the playoffs and were the first team eliminated from the CHL championship tournament.

The playoff result summed up Molleken’s second tenure in Saskatoon, which began in 2004 and when he took over a Blades team that had won seven times the previous season.

The Blades instantly made the playoffs and Molleken guided them to six 40-win seasons in nine years.

But they never advanced past the second round – not in the Memorial Cup season; not in 2011 when, he mortgaged the future to acquire hometown star Brayden Schenn from Brandon with the team in the midst of a first-place run.

The Blades were swept in the second round by the eventual WHL champion Kootenay Ice. In all, Molleken lost his last 12 playoff games in Saskatoon.

With the Blades about to undergo a massive rebuild and an ownership change following the Memorial Cup, Molleken moved upstairs and left the coaching to his longtime assistant Dave Struch. Struch is now an assistant coach and GM with rival Regina.

“We built it to a point where we had all kinds of success,” Molleken said. “But when it comes to playoff time, it’s a different game. Maybe our makeup wasn’t quite what it needed to be.”

Molleken is one of only four coaches in WHL history with 600 regular season wins.

He got his start with Moose Jaw in 1988 and left for the pro ranks in 1995 after guiding the Blades to the WHL final twice – losing in Game 7 both times to Kamloops.

Molleken said he started to miss coaching midway through his first season away from the action. It’s been in his blood since he retired as a minor-pro goaltender in the mid 1980s.

Those feelings only intensified after he parted ways with the Blades and the new ownership group of Mike and Colin Priestner in March 2014.

While Molleken said he had talked to teams in other leagues, returning to the WHL was his top priority.

Molleken said he has noticed junior hockey evolve in one particular over the last two seasons. It’s something he plans to focus on in Vancouver.

“The game changes every year, but more so the players change,” he said. “Getting to know them and communication is the biggest part. There are so many things that are going on in these men’s lives today.

“Helping them become a better hockey player and better person everyday is probably my biggest goal. I feel if you can accomplish that, winning and success will take care of itself.”

His move to Vancouver comes with the Giants at a crossroads.

The Giants were the finalists to host the 2016 Memorial Cup, losing out to Red Deer.

Owner Ron Toigo said the team is losing money. Attendance has fallen in each of the past two seasons, dipping to an average of 5,815 in 2014-15.

The once-dominant franchise hasn’t advanced to the second round of the playoffs since 2010.

With elite prospect Tyler Benson entering in his NHL draft year, the Giants are looking for that to change.

It’s Molleken who is tasked with turning things around.

In Saskatoon, Molleken demanded accountability. He generally let his leaders lead. He delegated important tasks to his assistants so they could “perform to their strengths.”

He’s looking forward to getting back at it.

“That’s what I missed the most,” he said. “Believe me, there were lots of long nights where I wished I was back behind a bench again.

“That’s why I’m so excited about this opportunity.”