End of the ECHL Era for the Ontario Reign -- Jason Christie

There's always a little bit of information left over when you put together season ending stories. Here's some of the quotes that didn't make the paper in our Reign finale and the conversation with Justin Kemp. 

Coach Jason Christie is a general on the ice and behind the bench.

But even a general can have his cracks.

The Reign's coach the past four seasons, his future in Ontario immediately was changed when Ontario's move into the American Hockey League was made official. Where minor league coaches are just like the players in that they're always looking to move up, Christie had the double duty of keeping his team focused on the final two months also while knowing that when the season was over, the job he currently held -- that of ECHL coach in Ontario -- would no longer be needed.

Not that he ever let on.

"Obviously, I always felt like I was in a great community. I’ll sit down with Darren (this)week and we’ll go from there. At the end it wouldn’t be fair if I was thinking anything different from what the players thought. That it’s now. Any job, you can’t really look ahead any, you have to completely focus on the task at hand. Losing Harpo (former assistant coach Mark Hardy, who got a job in the American Hockey League) this year, and just solo, it was kind of a thing of keep moving forward, day by day. I had to approach it like that. It wouldn’t be fair to the players if there were any concern at all."

And he said he never saw his players attention waver during the final two months either.

"I have to give the guys a lot of props for that. There was no hesitation, there was no thought – they came to play for the Ontario Reign. And I have to give them props for that for sure."

Not that everything was wine and roses at the start for the coach, who started his tenure by cleaning house, earning some scorn. 

"When I first came in here, I let go some of the guys, I got a lot of backlash from it. (a different reporter) wrote a pretty harsh, one-sided interview that we just had to put aside. And Harpo and I put our nose down, and we just brought a great group of people in here to play the game. Hats go off to the players who showed up here each and every day."

But being in Southern California the past four years, Christie has seen the sport of hockey grow -- both across the region, and in Ontario, also thanks in part to the efforts of his players.

"I used to play against Long Beach and that. Anaheim Ducks winning the Stanley Cup, the LA Kings winning the Stanley Cup, and so it’s brought a bunch of success. My kids are in the game of hockey. They play, and they go to school, and there’s just as much LA Kings Anaheim Ducks as there is Dodgers and Angels. That says a lot for the game to hockey.

"But again, I think it’s different, because our fan base really rallied around us. I think they enjoyed how the team played. The group of guys we had that are in the community day in and day out. The school appearances, the going to meet kids at Dave and Busters and just those little things, a lot of shoulder to shoulder time with Ontario Reign players."

End of the ECHL Era for the Ontario Reign -- Justin Kemp

There's always a little bit of information left over when you put together season ending stories. Here's some of the quotes that didn't make the paper in our Reign finale and the conversation with Justin Kemp. 

Justin Kemp may have left his post with the Reign when the team announced its move into the American Hockey League. He was a regular visitor at the games, and still visited with the team in the locker room area.

But it was definitely a different experience, he said.

"I mean it is definitely different, because you’re watching it as a fan as opposed to an employee of the team. At the same time I still felt the expectations for the fans, for the team itself, hockey ops staff, of course the front office staff. From that aspect, not a lot changed. Certainly my passion and desire to win never wavered. In some ways it was kind of nice because I had the opportunity to sit back and watch it and take advantage and just enjoy it from a hockey standpoint without any of the other distractions."

One of the hallmarks of the Reign over the last few years has been the addition of players from Southern California. From contract players such as Kyle Bigos to players such as Matt White, Dennis Brown and CJ Stretch, the ECHL version of the Reign allowed local players a chance to play at home.

It wasn't by design, as coach Jason Christie was able to track down the best players for his squad, but it didn't hurt the bottom line, either, Kemp said.

"I think it was probably Jason finding the right guys. But any time you can find a quality player that’s in your own back yard, that’s a plus. In the 20 years or so that I’ve been in this business, I’ve seen so much growth in the terms of the number of players that have come out of Southern California who have played at some sort of professional level. You have some legitimate talent now. It’s not just a novelty any more to have a player on your roster, like a Kyle Bigos, for instance, from right here in Upland. That’s not an accident. He’s a legitimate player, especially for this league and spent some time up in the American League. If you see it’s between two players one of which is local and one isn’t, yeah, there’s all kinds of reasons why you would do that, none of which are smaller than the fact you might get more fans in the building. But, let’s face it, we’re an American-run business, it’s cheaper, more economical to have an American player than a Canadian player."

As far as Kemp's future, it's still in the air. But he's done resting and is itching to take on a new challenge.

“At this point, I’ve realized I don’t think what I anticipated is how hard it is to figure out what it is that’s going to trigger your interest after having something that’s been as fulfilling as this over the last near decade,” he said. “I kind of thought I’ll take a month off and I’ll be ready to jump back into something. Mentally I’m ready to jump back into something, because I’m not used to having time on my hands like this. But it’s really important for me to find the right fit.

“I think to have an opportunity to start up another franchise somewhere or even help resurrect an existing franchise somewhere, would be something of interest to me. If not, something completely outside of team sports but involves growing another business. I’ve looked at a bunch of different things, but nothing has caught just yet. But I’m trying to be patient and methodical about it. I’m confident that at some point here, before this year is out, something will fall into place.”

End of the ECHL Era for the Ontario Reign -- Derek Couture

There's always a little bit of information left over when you put together season ending stories. Here's some of the quotes that didn't make the paper in our Reign finale and the conversation with Justin Kemp.

The biggest thing that didn't make the final cut was information about Derek Couture. The Reign captain told me before the playoffs started that he was unsure about his future in hockey. Nothing's changed.

"I don’t know. I mean, this game is crazy, like I’ve said before. You know, you can tell yourself you’re prepared to walk away from it, but when it comes down to it, maybe you’re not ready and you’ll play this game until someone says ‘Hey, it’s time to hang ‘em up.’ "

He missed the Reign's final game due to a suspension incurred in a Game 6 altercation. He received a match penalty for his actions.

"To me, it was a fight. It was a hockey fight. And, maybe the league or the ref didn’t think it was a fight. But whenever you’re engaged one on one with a guy, he knew he was in a fight. Whether you want to fight back or not, it’s up to him."

And not being able to play in the deciding game was painful for the veteran.

"You don’t even know. There was a lot that was going through my mind at the time. One, you never want to watch the game. But two, I was a little disappointed and I don’t know. It kind of felt like I was letting the team down by getting suspended there. But it’s hockey, man. Things happen. Emotions are running high, especially in the playoffs."

Coach Jason Christie had nothing but praise for the work his captain has done over the past four years. 

"He’s what you want to build your team around – a real pro. He’s been great. When we first came in here, Harpo (former assistant coach Mark Hardy) and I, there was a lot on his shoulders being the captain and setting what we want to build around. Hey, I have nothing but the utmost respect for how hard he played, what he brought to the organization, but him as a person."

It was a sentiment echoed by Justin Kemp.

"There’s no question. He was a true professional from day one. He kept the bar high. He is really one of those who practices what he preaches. He’s just a class act. He’s always a class act for this organization. You can see the difference when he’s in the lineup versus not. And I don’t think there’s any greater example of that then that Game 7 the other night when he was suspended. In fact that could have been the difference maker having him in that lineup. He’s actually been a cornerstone for this organization the last four years. He’s exactly the type of player that we like having represent us."

Christie, like his captain, is unsure about the future for the right winger.

"The thing about him, he only knows how to play one way, and is the age catching up to him? I don’t know. He has to play one way, that’s the only way he knows how to play. Unfortunately,it’s time right now, where he has to decide and it’s a tough. I feel for him, because it’s a tough thing to go through. I’ve been through as an ex-player, and when is when? He’s a first class person that I have nothing but obviously great things to whatever he does."