News

By Mike Bennett

Blenheim News Tribune

If the Blenheim Blades do finally win the organization’s first Great Lakes Junior ‘C’ Hockey League championship next season, the fan up in the stands cheering the loudest will be the one who laid the foundation and supervised the construction for building the winner.

Bob McNear officially announced his retirement in an emotional speech at Friday night’s team banquet at the Willow Ridge Golf & Country Club.

The 41-year-old Blenheim native had said at the end of the 2014-15 season, and reiterated his comments when he was inducted into the Blades’ Hall of Fame last November, that this was going to be his last season behind the bench.

He admitted second thoughts crept into his head, with the success of the 2015-16 season and the outpouring of emotion around the team last week.

But McNear ultimately followed through on his decision to step down as head coach.

“I knew at the beginning of the season, it was going to be it for me,” McNear said in an interview on Monday, as he wanted time to collect his thoughts before discussing his decision.

“It’s not that I don’t want to be coach of the Blades and be around those kids ... because I love those boys.

“But where I’m at with my family and in my life, I have to do it now,” he said of getting out from behind the bench.

“My kids are getting older, (son) Wade’s going into high school and I definitely want to coach him next year and maybe help him get prepared for junior hockey in a few years.

“More than anything, I need time to breathe and focus on my family,” McNear said.

McNear admitted the ‘second thoughts’ crept into his mind last week, with players trying to talk him into ‘one more year.’

And the emotions leading up to the banquet were accelerated with the death of Jordan Shine, son of assistant coach Ken Shine.

“It was a difficult week, with what happened to Shiner’s family, the way the team came together this weekend, it makes everyone come a little bit closer,” McNear said.

“We spent some really good times together this weekend ... it would have been easy to change my mind on Friday, but I have to stick with what I decided.”

McNear played six seasons with the Blades and was the captain of the 1994-95 squad that went to the Great Lakes championship finals, the last Blenheim team to make it that far.

He had three stints behind the Blades’ bench, becoming the head coach for the first time in 2001 and again three years later, as he stepped away both times because of his work as Chatham-Kent Police Services officer.

He took over the reigns for a third time on Dec. 1, 2009 after Peter South resigned.

McNear has more than double the time behind the Blades’ bench than any other current coach in the league.

The Blades posted a 131-114-5-6 record during McNear’s third tenure, including a team record five straight winning seasons, five straight trips to the playoffs and three consecutive semifinal berths.

“It seems like something always gets in our way, and I think a lot of time it’s our own selves,” McNear said about the disappointment of not getting to the finals the last three years.

This past season, the Blades finished second with a 25-13-1-1 record, eliminated the Dresden Kings in the first round but were eliminated by the Amherstburg Adm-irals in six games in the semifinals for a second consecutive season.

“We definitely had a good enough team to win our league this year, and I think we got in our own way,” McNear said.

“It’s something we have to overcome to win a championship.

“The pieces are there, we just have to bring it all together.”

McNear said more important than the five consecutive winning seasons, what he will take away from his time with the Blades is his relationship with the players, management and fans.

“I love those kids, I’d do anything for them, it’s hard knowing I’m not going to be with them four or five nights a week next year,” he said of the players.

“One of the most rewarding things is being able to stand on the bench with guys like Neven (Wiebenga) and Taylor (Phillips), guys I coached and they came back (as assistants), it makes me pretty proud they did that.”

He is very grateful to general manager Wayne Cowell, team president Matthew Frain and long-time team executive member Bill Saunders.

“When I first started, everything was kind of on me ... it was an overwhelming job.

“But when Wayne came on ... he has connections everywhere, he was born to do this sort of thing and he does a really, really good job,” he said of Cowell.

“Without Matt and Bill, the team’s not there, as simple as that,” he said of Frain and Saunders.

“Those guys have made this team a first-class organization.”

The trio are equally grateful of McNear’s contributions over the years.

“I just want to thank him for his time with the Blades, he helped us grow and achieve into a contending team,” said Frain.

“Bobby is a dedicated Blenheim Blade, he lives and dies with the Blades,” Cowell said.

“He’s put a lot of years into the Blades and it’s very much appreciated by the organization.”

“I’m sorry to see him go, we’ve been together for a long, long time,” Saunders said.

“I think of Bob almost like another son, he means the world to me,” Saunders said.

McNear will be on the ice this Thursday at the first of two Blades’ pre-season skates at The Rec Centre to help the team while the search for his replacement begins.

Then, he turns the dressing room key and chalkboard over to his replacement.

“The team is in great hands moving forward,” McNear said.

“I feel good about where the organization and the team is at right now.

“I think we have one of the classiest organizations in all of junior hockey, not just our league, but all of junior hockey.

“I want to thank everyone for the opportunity to be a part of it for so long, it’s been a big part of my life for a long time.

“I wouldn’t change it for the world,” McNear said.

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