24 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2009 Blades make big changes as season approaches Club has new coach, working on agreement to move to North Park facility for 2010 By Jon Kuiperij BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR inning the Ontario Junior Hockey League championship is a goal for the Oakville Blades once again this season, but Carlo Coccimiglio has bigger fish to fry. After guiding the Blades to the RBC Royal Bank Cup two years ago and a league final appearance last season, Coccimiglio has decided to relinquish his coaching duties in order to completely focus on the off-ice affairs of the junior A club. Taking Coccimiglio's place behind the bench will be Jason Nobili, whose coaching experience belies his age. Nobili, 35, is entering the 12th year of a coaching career that includes five years in the East Coast Hockey League and four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League. Coccimiglio led the Blades to an overall record of 103-34 the past two years. His decision to step down as head coach of the Blades was finalized this past weekend, a couple days before the team began preseason workouts. "With all the work that's ahead of me to prepare this organization for the next step, I can't give 110 per "With all the cent on the ice and work that's 110 per cent on the ahead of me... I other duties," said the 53-year-old can't give 110 Coccimiglio, who per cent on the remains the team's ice and 110 per president and gencent on the other eral manager. duties." Those other duties include con Oakville Blades tinuing to build a president/GM partnership with the Carlo Coccimiglio Minor Oaks Hockey Association, improving the club's relationship with the Oakville community, and attempting to reach an agreement with the Town of Oakville that could see the Blades move from Joshua's Creek Arenas to the new North Park arena in 2010. "That will take a lot of negotiation with the Town and a lot of preparation work," Coccimiglio said of the Blades' potential new home. W JON CURRIE / OAKVILLE BEAVER NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: New Oakville Blades head coach Jason Nobili (right) draws up a drill for his players during the Blades' preseason workout Tuesday at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Nobili took over as the club's coach last weekend after Carlo Coccimiglio stepped down to focus on the team's office affairs. The North Park arena, currently under construction north of Dundas St. near Neyagawa Blvd., is attractive to the Blades for several reasons. The quad-pad facility will feature a 1,500seat, Olympic-sized ice pad with a three-quarter bowl seating plan, helping the Blades accommodate more fans. It's also much more accessible to the public than Joshua's Creek Arenas, which is located in the northeast end of town, has limited parking and is not on a bus route. "I love the rink here, the dressing room," Coccimiglio said Tuesday, seated in his office at Joshua's Creek Arenas. "But, at the end of the day, there's no bus service here, so you can't cater to the... young people who bring a lot of excitement to the arena. "We want to help the kids get back involved, to give them a place to hang out on Friday nights and keep them coming back." Coccimiglio is optimistic the Blades and Town of Oakville will eventually come to an agreement, noting that he is hoping to receive similar subsidies from the Town that other teams in the Ontario Junior Hockey League receive from their communities. "We will give similar treatment to all our sports groups within the town," said Domenic Lunardo, commissioner of community services for the Town of Oakville. "We like to be consistent within the town. We will certainly be looking at what other municipalities are doing with their junior A team, but primarily our principle is we want to be consistent within our municipality and how we treat all sports groups." Lunardo said he is also optimistic the two groups will come to an agreement, pointing out the Blades already play in a town facility. New coach settling in Meanwhile, Nobili is getting his feet wet this week as he gets acquainted with the Blades organization and the players. He doesn't need to get to know Coccimiglio, however. The two are well familiar with each other, having worked together in the past in other hockey-related ventures. "Knowing each other, there is a comfort level," said Nobili, who was the head coach and director of hockey operations with the East Coast Hockey League's Reading Royals -- a club in the Toronto Maple Leafs system -- last season. "When you're going through something as quick and as late as it is in this setting, the gap will be shortened because of the relationship (between himself and Coccimiglio) before. Now, it's just get on with the hockey team, get on with the hockey players, evaluate and move forward. If we had no previous knowledge of each other, it would probably be a bit harder." Nobili said he prefers his teams to play an up-tempo, forechecking style, but he'll need to adapt his systems to the Blades' demanding schedule this year. The Ontario Junior Hockey League realigned its divisions during the offseason, meaning more travel and less recovery time for the players. He'll likely have a lot of talent to work with. Ryan Murphy, Kyle Badham, Steven Guzzo, Dustin Alcock, Dan Hunt and Mike Ingoldsby headline the returning cast from last year's team that fell two victories short of the Blades' second consecutive league championship. Coccimiglio is also excited about the additions of goaltender Mike Morrisette, forwards Tyler Karius, Braeden Corbeth and Brandon Alderson, and defencemen Nick Ravait and Alex Cord. Nobili will see his new charges in game action for the first time Sunday, when the Blades host the Hamilton Red Wings for a preseason tilt. Game time at Joshua's Creek Arenas is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.