Stephenville -
If it was only about winning, Ron Dobbin probably would have walked away from junior hockey by now.
Dobbin's Stephenville Junior Red Wings sit in the cellar of the Central/West Junior Hockey League with just one win in 10 games at the Christmas break.
"The amazing part about it is half of the games we've been in right until late in the third period," Dobbin, the Red Wings coach, told The Western Star in a recent interview.
Realistically, everybody loves to win, but Dobbin said the fact young men are having a chance to play a game of hockey and have fun is what really got him involved in the game five years ago. He takes pride in seeing players go on to be leaders and contributors to their communities after their playing days are over.
"You're kind of proud of the fact that you've had something to do with it, and it kept them off the streets and gave them something else to do," he said.
Dobbin said he talked to one of his former players a couple of days ago and it was a conversation that convinced him even more that there is more to the game than just winning.
"What I see is that you are still providing a place for kids to play," he said the player told him.
Every year Dobbin has embraced the challenge of rebuilding a team for the pending season. He has watched good hockey players leave the team for school and/or work commitments, which is the nature of junior hockey in the province. Even this year, he lost a couple of key players when they joined the expansion Port aux Basques Junior Mariners.
He also has to live with the fact that his players are all spread out, with some guys having to drive four hours to have a game of competitive hockey. His team doesn't have the luxury of mid-week practices, but they do manage to practice on Fridays when the team is at home for two games at the Stephenville Dome on a weekend.
A positive development for the team is Dobbin has a group of people in Stephenville showing a keen interest in lending a helping hand. Dobbin would welcome some assistance, so he can concentrate more on the building of the team.
"They're just trying to free themselves up so they can do it. If that happens it allows me to work on things that I can do, like bringing players in that will fit," he said.
He wants the fans to enjoy watching the Junior Cataracts and Junior Mariners with their skill and tenacity, but more importantly he wants them to get caught up in the rivalry Stephenville has developed with Corner Brook.
"The objective is to get ahead of Corner Brook. They are only one game ahead of us," he said, noting third place would set up an interesting showdown with the Junior Mariners in the first round.
While he admits some of his players have been discouraged by the losses piling up, Dobbin remains an eternal optimist. He has been impressed by the fan support in Stephenville and he hopes it continues.
"It's their team. It's not some other team that just happens to drop in for a few games," he said.
