AUGUSTA, Ga. – In 2002, Brad Ralph endeared himself to the fans of the Augusta Lynx with play that earned him their “heart and soul” award. Eight years later, the heart and soul are coming home as part of the rebirth of hockey in Georgia’s second largest city.
Wednesday afternoon, the Augusta RiverHawks announced that Ralph will be returning to Augusta to be the Head Coach of the SPHL expansion team when it hits the ice in October. It will be Ralph’s first opportunity to be a head coach, a chance that he is grateful to be getting.
“I feel very fortunate to get the opportunity to get back into hockey on the coaching end. I’ve been planning this (going into coaching) for the last two or three years of my playing career, been planning for the transition,” Ralph said following the press conference introducing him to the media and fans. “It’s a great situation for me. The fact that I played here, I know a lot of people here. I have a good relationship with the fans. I was fortunate enough to meet my wife here in Augusta. Things really seem to have fallen into place here.”
Just two seasons removed since he hung up the skates, Ralph, 29, impressed owner Bob Kerzner, General Manager Gilles Richard and hockey operations consultant Rick Allain from the outset with his preparedness and professionalism.
“The first thing that really impressed me was his presence. He wore a suit to the meeting. He carries himself extremely well. That first impression – how players will look at coaches and the media, how he carries himself – was extremely impressive for a guy of his age,” Richard said.
The image was just the beginning. As the group began its interview, they quickly found that Ralph had already formed a game plan for how he wanted to build the team.
“When he spoke, he showed how prepared he was and his references were unbelievable. He came into the office with basically a coaching mandate which was broken down basically into five areas: community, media and fan relations; a protocol on the players; protocols on himself; how he would approach the game with systems and different things like that and rules and regulations for the team,” Richard said. “He had our league broken down. He took the time to call the other coaches. It was impressive to see someone who came that prepared.”
The references that Richard referred to included Scott White, the Dallas Stars’ Director of Minor League Operations who was Ralph‘s coach with the Columbia Inferno in 2004-2005, as well as Hershey Bears’ assistant Troy Mann who followed White in Columbia and made Ralph his player-assistant coach.
“Todd called me three times before he (Ralph) even called. He didn’t even know that Troy had called me. He wanted to help the kid out,” Richard said. “Scott White said to me ‘if you find anybody saying anything bad about this kid, call me because I need to meet them’. He just couldn’t say enough positive things about his work ethic and how he approaches games.”
Ralph himself credits Mann with being a huge influence on his coaching style and philosophy.
“He played a big role in my transition into coaching. I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. He’s been a close friend of mine,” Ralph said. “I got the opportunity to be his player-coach and do some assistant coaching for him during my last year in Columbia. I learned a lot from him just from a business standpoint of what it takes to coach systematically. He’s certainly has played a big mentoring role for me and I’m sure he will for years to come.”
Richard said that even before he was hired, Ralph assisted him with doing background checks on the players who the RiverHawks had to choose from in the expansion draft. In the end, the players chosen by Richard were very much along the lines of who Ralph would have drafted himself.
“I think it is important, because we are an expansion team, it is important to bring in the right type of veteran players here with the right type of character that will buy into the systems and really work with me to build a strong program here,” Ralph said. “I think it is important that we get a lot of young players in here that are motivated to play hockey and play a passionate style of hockey that the fans can relate to. I think with the proper systems put in place and starting right from the get-go will make a big difference in the years to come here.”
Ralph’s philosophy on building the team was music to Richard’s ears.
“We want to build from the goalie out with a strong goaltender and have a real physical team that is entertaining with some youth that want to work hard so the fans can relate to their effort,” Richard said. “When he said that he wants to build the same type of team, it just fit perfectly.”
Richard said that he got plenty of positive feedback on the coaching selection when he “leaked” it at a RiverHawks Booster Club meeting Tuesday night. The good feelings continued into the press conference as the fans who attended were excited about having Brad Ralph in charge of the team.
“Everybody was pleased with the choice. There was nothing negative said. Everybody gave the thumbs up. We were very happy,” he said. “Again today (Wednesday), when we came in, the older gentlemen that were around (at the press conference) said it was a good choice and were real happy with who we picked. It was positive even in the chat rooms. I guess his (Ralph’s) wife called and said it was real positive on the choice.”
As for Ralph’s expectations for the RiverHawks when the season begins in October, he said that based on his research, he thinks that Augusta will be a great fit for the SPHL.
“I’m excited. It (SPHL) sounds like there’s a lot of players that are motivated to play hockey and come with a good attitude as well as a good quality of hockey effort,” he said. “I’ve read that SPHL teams can compete with ECHL teams. I think there’s always been a fine line between the players at the level they’re at and the next level. Hockey is hockey and players are players. I think it will be a good league and a good brand of hockey here.”
When asked about the response of the fans in Augusta, many of whom were upset with the way the Lynx franchise went dark, Ralph said he was confident that they would return to the James Brown Arena come the fall.
“From what I’ve seen so far, the organization has done a lot of great things promoting the team and doing it right. I think the fans will get excited again for hockey. Once you’re a fan of hockey, you’re always a fan,” he said. “We’ll make sure that it is an exciting style of hockey that we play here and I think the front office so far has done a great job showing the fans that they should come back out and support hockey in Augusta.”
For now, however, Brad Ralph can relish this first opportunity to create a team and bring his heart and soul back to a city that has meant so much to him.
“The fact that I get to start my coaching career in Augusta, it means a lot to me and to know that the things that I‘ve done throughout the years as a player are paying off,” Ralph said. “I’m just real excited to get the opportunity and look forward to building a great program here in Augusta. A winning program.”
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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