Second-year Kamloops Blazers' assistant coach Don Hay shoulders added responsibility this season. Hay helped head coach Ken Hitchcock tutor the forwards last season. This time, Hay's in charge of keeping track of the defensemen and goaltenders.
"I understand the defensive game pretty well," said Hay, originally drafted by the Minnesota North Stars. "All defense is, is hard work, playing your position and trying to make the easy play.
"We're not going to have flashy defense-men, except maybe for Greg Hawgood. We're going to be solid and keep mistakes to a minimum."
Hay said he was assigned to goaltenders as well to give the puck-stoppers more attention in practice.
"I'm not going to be there to change a goalie. By now, they've got their styles down pretty pat," Hay said. "I'd like to spend one practice a week just going over drills that can help them.They have probably got the most pressure of anybody. They're kind of like forgotten men sometimes, until a goal gets in, then everyone remembers them."

Hay, who coached and played senior and minor hockey in Kamloops since retiring from the American Hockey League, said he learned much in his rookie season behind a Western Hockey League bench. "The biggest thing I learned was the team can't play with high emotion every game of the season. When I first went out I was very intense. I figured players had to be intense every minute of every game. It's hard to ask that. I'd never gone through a season as a coach that had 100 games. Plus, I learned a lot about handling different players. You can't be yelling and shouting 100 games a year or players just turn you off," he said.