(From left) GM George Burnett, head coach Ryan Oulahen and associate coach Eric Wellwood discuss the start to their new jobs in Flint. (Photos by Matt Mackinder/MiHockey)

Firebirds’ new GM, coaching tandem set out to change culture in Flint

(From left) GM George Burnett, head coach Ryan Oulahen and associate coach Eric Wellwood discuss the start to their new jobs in Flint. (Photos by Matt Mackinder/MiHockey)
(From left) GM George Burnett, head coach Ryan Oulahen and associate coach Eric Wellwood discuss the start to their new jobs in Flint. (Photos by Matt Mackinder/MiHockey)

 

By Matt Mackinder –

FLINT – During the media session introducing the new Flint Firebirds general manager and pair of coaches, it was evident right from the start that all three are ready to put their stamp on the Ontario Hockey League franchise.

George Burnett, Ryan Oulahen and Eric Wellwood all wore orange ties to the May 24 session at the Dort Federal Credit Union Event Center, and all three expressed their commitment to changing the culture that doomed the Firebirds during their inaugural OHL run this past season.

Burnett has coached in the OHL the better part of the past 25 years and will serve as Flint’s general manager, while Oulahen, the Firebirds’ head coach, and Wellwood, the club’s associate coach, each played and coached in the league. All three were appointed to their respective positions by the OHL, who took over the club during the 2015-16 season.

And if the positive vibes that the trio brought to Flint are a sign of what’s to come, last year should be a distant memory in the not-so-distant future.

“This is a unique circumstance,” said Burnett. “We’re well aware of the different things that have happened, but our focus is clearly on what’s happening moving forward. We can spend a lot of time on it and analyze it to death, but our focus is solely on what’s going to happen with this program moving forward. There’s a staff to finalize, to put in place, job descriptions and who’s going to fit into different roles.

“There was a lot of good that happened here last year, too. More than anything, you’ve got an energy in the fan base that is excited about Year 2.”

Last season saw former Flint owner Rolf Nilsen fire the coaching staff – twice – and then get suspended by the OHL for five years and pay a $250,000 fine for violating an agreement he signed with the league last November after the coaching staff was fired the first time. Many of Flint’s high-end players were also dealt elsewhere, leaving the team with youth and little depth. The Firebirds also failed to earn an OHL postseason berth.

That was then, and this is now.

And according to Burnett, “this is Ryan Oulahen’s team. This is not my team. My job is to support him and I am going to do everything in my power to help him and Eric and our staff build the kind of team that we’re looking for.”

Oulahen, who has spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach for the Brampton Battalion and North Bay Battalion after retiring at 24 due to an injury, was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fifth round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft and played from 2005-09 with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. He also played for Brampton from 2002-05.

“I’ve had lots of experiences in the league and played in some big games,” Oulahen said. “I’m going to draw on those experiences, too. I want to establish our team as one of the hardest-working teams in the OHL. That’s the way I played the game as a player and that’s the way I’m going to preach it as a coach.”

In looking at Wellwood, and the three MasterCard Memorial Cup rings he has – two as a player with the Windsor Spitfires (2009, 2010) and one as an assistant coach with the Oshawa Generals in 2015 – bringing a championship pedigree to the Vehicle City is another positive.

Wellwood and his older brother, Kyle, both played in the NHL as well. Eric Wellwood called it a career in 2013 after seeing time in 31 games with the Philadelphia Flyers over parts of three seasons.

“This is an opportunity where you can win a championship in Flint,” said Wellwood. “It all starts with the leadership group – that’s where it seems all the championships come from. It’s a trickle-down effect from there. I think we’ve got the right pieces in place as far as the management group. Now, we’ve just got to get all the players to buy in and usually, that’s the task that comes upon the coaching staff. Obviously, with me having three Memorial Cups, I know what it takes to win and the kind of attitude you need to have.”

Then there is the age factor – Oulahen is 31 and Wellwood, just 26. Both feel a youthful approach to coaching will be a major asset to the Firebirds and with Burnett serving as a mentor, all signs point to success.

“Most of these players get here when they’re 16, when they’re boys,” Wellwood said. “We want them to leave as men. We’re not just here to create hockey players. We’re also here to create great citizens. That’s one thing Ryan and I are going to instill in them – it’s not just about being a hockey player, but also how you carry yourself as a professional.”

“When you look at the top guy in George, he has a proven track record of building winning programs and winning cultures,” added Oulahen. “When you look at where Eric and I come from, we both came from stabile franchises and we know how to run a good program. There’s no reason why when you put the skates on that you shouldn’t be going 100 miles an hour all the time.

“Hopefully, my players are going to buy in to that and that’s the way we’re going to do it.”