(Supplied photo/ Blackfalds Bulldogs)

By Ian Gustafson

New Era

Blackfalds Bulldogs needed a ‘reset,’ says owner Doug Quinn on decision to step down as head coach

Dec 21, 2024 | 4:19 PM

As the old saying goes, a good leader knows when it’s time to step down.

When Blackfalds Bulldogs owner Doug Quinn resigned as head coach of the Junior A hockey club on Tuesday, he knew it was time, which was a decision he pondered on even before the start of the season.

But when the Bulldogs struggled out of the gate in their first full season in the British Columbia Hockey League posting a 2-23-1-0 record, it was time for a change. They are also currently in last place in the league.

Quinn told rdnewsNOW the team didn’t have the start to the 2024-25 campaign they hoped for.

“Eventually the frustration builds up for the players, coaches, and the fans. I just felt it was a good time to take a step back and reevaluate our hockey operations and put in a plan moving forward to try to strengthen our operation,” he said.

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“We needed a little bit of a reset and ultimately as the head coach and decision maker I need to take myself out of the day-to-day to be able to look at a longterm strategic plan of where our group is going moving forward.”

It wasn’t an easy decision for Quinn who’s coached hockey for approximately 20 years but from his experience in building multiple businesses, he knows when something isn’t working it’s important to embrace change.

Associate coach Ryan Tobler will step in as interim head coach and assistant coach Brady Bakke will also remain on the staff for the remainder of the season.

“I feel very confident with the people and the coaches that I have in place. It’s easier for me to step back and think about the whole operation and find ways to make that stronger,” he said.

Other than taking a step back from coaching, nothing else will change for Quinn who will remain the co-owner of the team with Jodie Quinn. He’ll also continue to make decisions on the hockey operations side of the team.

“Jodie and I made a commitment to the Bulldogs and the Town of Blackfalds… We’re building a core group of players to finish the rest of the season and then to build on for next year,” he said.

“We have a strong foundation of people in our Bulldogs office and now we have a solid foundation in our coaching group. It’s just a matter of we’ve moved into a new league and we need to make improvements.”

Since the Bulldogs inaugural season of Junior A hockey in 2021, they reached the divisional final in the 2022-23 season, the BCHL Alberta division final in the 2023-24, and achieved back to back 39-win seasons.