Powell River Kings management has announced several changes to its hockey operations department. These final preseason assignments come on the heels of much preparation and heightened community, volunteer and sponsorship support for a successful season in the BC Hockey League (BCHL), according to a media release from the Kings.
Glenn Anderson has opted to hand off his general manager position to take on a more expansive/supervisory role as director of hockey operations. He will oversee all hockey operations in addition to his head coaching responsibilities. As a first move in this capacity, Anderson has named Stephan Seeger Jr. as his general manager and also added him as an associate coach, supplementing his bench staff.
“Glenn has a vision for his on-ice product, to be sure; his bench, his lines, his special teams and other on-ice strategies are certainly all his, but they are all products of valuable dialog and input from his coaching staff, who work together with him toward solving immediate problems, making situational adjustments and ensuring forward progress,” stated Kings’ president Stephan Seeger Sr. “Over the last year, management has worked very closely with Glenn for obvious reasons—we welcome his fingerprints on all aspects of hockey operations because we share a vision. He adopts a holistic approach to becoming a winning hockey team; goals are attained comprehensively for Glenn and organizational integration is something he sees not as undermining specialty components necessary to win, but as necessary supplements to a healthy organization that realizes goals on course to a winning environment/culture. In his new role as director of hockey his influence will not only guide our team, but also all of the staff that work together to make us a successful organization.”
Anderson said he opted for the new changes because “winning is a cultural aspect of the game and championships are not just a product of games won and lost; success in hockey is just as much about a collective attitude and path to victory.”
To win, everyone from bottom up has to believe and be on the same page, and visions are relative, working with what you have at the level you operate in, he added.
“We have certainly made cultural progress since last year,” stated Anderson. “I’m looking forward to it coming to together to produce a successful season, during which I plan to contribute more globally in a supervisory capacity to all other aspects of hockey ops I feel must be more aligned with our vision, goals and overall organizational philosophies.”
Seeger Jr. has moved to Powell River and says he is enjoying the community and its commitment to the Kings; he hopes the new proximity to the rink and players will enhance player and team related projects he has been involved in from the outset.
“Having spent many years in the BCHL and with the Kings, I personally spent a great deal of time sharing knowledge and ideas designed to help both Steph and Glenn implement their action plan,” stated Kings’ vice president Chad Van Diemen. “While it’s never easy to make mid-season changes, we all feel now that going through this process last season puts us further ahead of the curve heading into a 2024/2025 campaign with high expectations.”
The new GM and associate coach said there is still a lot of work to be done.
“The Birch Group took over management of the team just prior to the start of last season and there was pressure to improve things, including both the on-ice product as well as management of the team in the larger sense,” stated Seeger Jr. “There has always been concern for having more ‘boots on the ground’ in a small-market situation, which I knew under the circumstances would take some time. Collectively, last year we faced some unexpected adversity, but I think it made us all a little wiser, too.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity and the confidence that coach [Anderson] has placed in me. I hope to see our fans at the rink and at preseason camp, and other team activities very soon.”
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