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Prince Albert Raiders, Bruno Campese part ways after 8 seasons
The Bruno Campese era has come to an end in Prince Albert as the Raiders announced today that the long-time general manager won’t be returning for a ninth season.
Frankly, this announcement seemed inevitable. The Raiders won a total of two playoff games and didn’t muster a single post-season victory with Winnipeg Jets first-rounder Josh Morrissey and Edmonton Oilers prized pick Leon Draisaitl in their lineup in Campese’s eight years with the team. On top of that, Campese used up his two lifelines when he fired head coaches Steve Young (2013) and Cory Clouston (2014) after he relinquished his bench boss duties in his fifth year with the club.
In the GM chair, Campese had his good and bad days. He drafted and recruited a handful of high-end stars such as Draisaitl, Morrissey and Chicago Blackhawks first-rounder Mark McNeill. He did make some questionable moves, though, like sending top 2013 bantam pick Jake Kryski to the Kamloops Blazers for then-overage goalie Cole Cheveldave two summers ago.
Campese was cut a lot of slack when he first landed in Prince Albert because his predecessor, Donn Clark, left him with a bare cupboard. It was a fair excuse early on, but began getting old in his fifth year with the organization. It’s safe to say Campese did leave his future successor with more to work with than Clark; however, Clark’s 2005-playoff run gives his era an edge in on-ice success.
“I leave Prince Albert knowing I have worked as hard as possible and that much progress has been made in many different aspects of the organization in both hockey and business operations,” Campese said in the release. “The team is in good shape moving forward with a competitive roster set to return next season, a successful WHL bantam draft in 2015 and multiple bantam draft picks available in the first three rounds in the next two bantam drafts.”
Although it’s too early to say for certain, Prince Albert did appear to do well in the 2015 bantam draft. They selected two of Saskatchewan’s top prospects in the first round: Estevan Bruins sniper Cole Fonstad (fifth overall) and Yorkton Terriers star Carson Miller (21st overall). Both forwards seem to have the talent and determination to develop into quality major junior players.
Regarding next season, the Raiders will be in tough to make the playoffs. The Brandon Wheat Kings and Regina Pats are locks to snag the top two playoff spots in the East Division while the Moose Jaw Warriors and Swift Current Broncos should have the edge on Prince Albert for the final two spots. Ultimately, Hockey Town North will depend heavily on its goaltending (Nick McBride and Rylan Parenteau were their starters in 2014-15) to have any shot at sneaking into the second season.
The news comes three weeks after the Raiders announced a four-year extension for head coach Marc Habscheid. It seems as though Habscheid won’t take over the general manager duties, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it happen. It would be a good way for Prince Albert to save a couple of bucks and he is certainly qualified for the position.
“Bruno will be hard to replace, but we will start the process immediately,” team president Dale McFee said in the release. “Bruno is still under contact to ensure all upcoming events are managed in the best interests of the club until a replacement can be found.”
When looking over possible candidates, Portland Winterhawks assistant GM Matt Bardsley and former Pats GM Chad Lang stand out as two good options. Bardsley deserves credit for Portland’s success in the bantam draft and listing and recruiting quality talents like Paul Bittner and New York Rangers prospect Keegan Iverson. Lang, meanwhile, had the Pats on the right track before he lost his GM duties when a new ownership group (Queen City Sports and Entertainment Group) took over in Regina.
Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen
