D.J. Smith leaving Windsor Spitfires to coach Oshawa Generals

Rather than wait out the coaching carousel in the pro ranks like some teams do — Oshawa Generals general manager Jeff Twohey decided, hey, hire a coach who's a proven success in a junior hockey.

The Generals announced Thursday morning that their new head coach is D.J. Smith, who was on staff as assistant coach with the Windsor Spitifres' back-to-back MasterCard Memorial Cup championship teams in 2009 and '10. One can only imagine it was tough for Smith to leave the Spitfires, who were the only OHL team he has ever played and coached with, but the opportunity is too good to pass up. Smith was also second in line to the throne in Windsor after associate coach Bob Jones, so if he was ever going to get the top job, it was going to be with another team.

From Jim Parker:

"With (Bob Boughner) back and four of us coaching there, I think it's my time to try and be a head coach and try to have my own success. I enjoyed it and it was great in Windsor, but in order to go any further and get to the next level, you have to go out there."

Smith said he had been talking with Twohey and Generals owner Rocco Tullio, who is a Windsor native, for six weeks.

"I wasn't sure how it would go, but they showed some interest and after we talked it seemed a lot more serious," Smith said.

Despite his youth, Smith brings an old school approach to the game with an emphasis on defence and player accountability.

"I'm a defence-first guy," Smith said. "I like physical hockey, finishing checks and blocking shots. If you watched the Stanley Cup, that's how you have to play." (Windsor Star)

Smith, of course, is fairly animated and vocal behind the bench — he'd never need to be miked up, put it that way — so it's a change in personality for the Generals. Change for change's sake is good.

The Generals underachieved last season while finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference. The fact they gave eventual league finalist Niagara its toughest match of the first three rounds suggests they had a lot more than what either former coach-GM Chris DePiero or ex-AHL and NHL coach Gary Agnew, who came in when the season was starting to slip away, were able wring out of them.

In other words, they might be more receptive to an in-your-face, younger coach. Smith often went above and beyond his job description with the Spitfires, especially when he first joined them in his late 20s with no coaching experience. He and another former Spits star, Bill Bowler, were around during the formative years of Windsor's emergence as a flagship franchise under the Bob Bougher/Warren Rychel ownership group.

Oshawa could use someone who sets the bar high, but can also get along with star players. The Generals have a few with high NHL picks Boone Jenner, Scott Laughton and Lucas Lessio. Eighteen-year-old goalie Daniel Altshuller might be ready to make a great leap forward after the Carolina Hurricanes made him an early third-round pick in last weekend's NHL draft. Having Smith behind the bench makes them a team to watch in the wide-open Eastern Conference landscape.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.