Bittersweet time for Sheldon Keefe

The Soo Greyhounds are in search of a new head coach, but not by choice.

Sheldon Keefe is moving on to the pro ranks as the 34-year-old had been hired as the new coach of the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies, the top affiliate of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

The move was announced early Monday morning by Toronto Maple Leafs assistant General Manager Kyle Dubas.

Keefe was hired by the Greyhounds in December 2012 to replace Mike Stapleton and proceeded to compile a 121-41-3-10 record in just under three seasons with the team, including a record-setting 2014-15 season that saw the Greyhounds post a 54-12-0-2 record. The team set a franchise record with 110 points.

Following the season, Keefe was named the Ontario Hockey League coach of the year and was honoured during the recently-completed 2015 MasterCard Memorial Cup as the Canadian Hockey League’s coach of the year as well.

“It’s a new challenge with new people, new opportunity in a new city,” said Keefe. “There are a lot of things that make it exciting. There’s a lot to take in and a lot to learn. I’m going to get to work here and get planning.

“At the same time it’s a little bittersweet,” Keefe added. “My family and I were just getting to a point of being really comfortable in Sault Ste. Marie both in our surroundings and our relationships with people that both my wife and I and our kids had met. Anytime you have to make a change like that, there’s more than just the hockey. There’s a lot to think about. We were fortunate to have a great experience in Sault Ste. Marie.”

Keefe expressed his thanks to the Greyhounds organization and the people of Sault Ste. Marie.

“From that end of it, it’s a tough day,” Keefe said. “We leave Sault Ste. Marie with nothing but positive experiences and memories.”

Greyhounds General Manager Kyle Raftis expressed his happiness in the announcement coming and called the need for the team to hire a new coach as a positive.

“As an organization you’re constantly in change, whether things aren’t going well and there has to be a change in coaching or management or things are going well and guys see better opportunities or different opportunities and progressing that way,” said Raftis.

“It’s a positive for the organization because (the OHL) is a development league,” Raftis also said. “As much as we’re trying to get players ready for the next level, a lot of times we’re trying to develop people internally in the organization as well.”

Raftis had high praise for the job done by Keefe in his time in Sault Ste. Marie.

“He’s someone that’s never truly satisfied with the way his team is playing,” said Raftis. “If there is ever an issue, he doesn’t sleep until he figures it out and has his team better performing on the ice. It’s easy to see how the team has performed throughout the year, you see his comments media-wise, he truly believes those statements.

“When you have a work ethic like that and a passion for coaching and had that relentless approach to it, it’s only a matter of time before success follows,” Raftis added.

Raftis called Keefe “fascinating” to work with.

“He’s one of those guys that if you don’t know him well, you would think that he’s a quiet guy,” said Raftis. “I really enjoyed working with him. He’s someone that I learned a lot from going through this year. The way he sees the game and the way his thought-process works is fascinating to work alongside with.”

“The biggest thing I’ll take away is the level of respect that the fans and community gave to me,” Keefe said. “I came in at a time when the Greyhounds were going through a tough time and at the time I was regarded as somewhat of a controversial or tough hire for them. The city welcomed me and recognized when things were starting to turn and appreciated our team and came out to every game.”

Keefe is the second new coaching hire by the Maple Leafs, who brought in former Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock in May to coach the NHL team.

“There’s obviously a tremendous opportunity to learn,” Keefe said of the opportunity to work with Babcock. “That will be a big part of what I do here over the summer especially is to learn from Mike and how he wants to play, what he values in players and bring that message here to the Marlies to be able to create a system that mirrors what the Leafs are doing and what Mike Babcock wants to have.”

It will also be an opportunity to work again with Dubas, the former Greyhounds general manager, who hired Keefe when he joined the Greyhounds in 2012.

“I’m excited about that,” Keefe said of getting to work with Dubas again. “We worked very well together. I felt I grew a lot as a coach in the short time we had to work with Kyle. A lot of that is through his vision and his commitment to learning and improving himself.  That went a long way in speeding up my development as a coach. To be here again and learn not only from him, but a number of great people that are doing really good work here in the organization. There’s a lot of reason to be excited about that.”

Keefe said that, while he will adjust, he doesn’t expect a lot of difference coaching in the AHL compared to coaching in the OHL.

“The way I approach (coaching the Marlies) is going to be very similar,” Keefe said of making the transition from the OHL. “There are going to be a lot of players that aren’t too far removed from junior hockey. There’s not a whole lot of difference there from what I believe at this point.

“I’ve had a lot of experience in dealing with the type of player that’s making this transition that I’m making as a coach,” Keefe added. “I’m not expecting to change a lot but at the same time I’m prepared to adapt and recognize the need to approach things differently when you’ve got players that have different circumstances and different issues on a day-to-day basis. In terms of my approach as a coach, I’m not planning on changing too much but I’ll be ready to adapt if necessary.”

The Greyhounds are exploring their options right now with regards to a new coach.

“We’re looking at different options right now,” said Raftis. “There were obviously a lot of rumours over the last couple of weeks and there were some individuals that reached out if there was a possible change to say that they would be interested.”

Prior to joining the Greyhounds, Keefe spent five seasons as coach and general manager of the Central Canada Hockey League’s Pembroke Limber Kings where he won five league titles and an RBC Cup in 2011.

Keefe was an assistant coach with Team Canada at the 2015 Memorial of Ivan Hlinka U18 tournament and coached Team Canada White at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge. Keefe was also an assistant coach for Team Canada East at the 2012 World Jr. A Challenge and was head coach at the 2011 Canadian Jr. A Top Prospect game.

The hiring continues a summer of change for the Maple Leafs.

The shift began when the organization fired General Manager Dave Nonis while also relieving interim coach Peter Horachek and assistants Steve Spott, Chris Dennis and goaltending coach Rick St. Croix of their duties in early April.

Babcock was eventually hired to replace Horachek, who took over the position on an interim basis after Randy Carlyle was fired by the Maple Leafs in January 2015.

In mid-May, the Maple Leafs then announced that Marlies Coach Gord Dineen had been fired by the team along with assistant coaches

The Maple Leafs have yet to hire a new general manager as Dubas and Director of Player Personnel Mark Hunter have been sharing the general manager responsibilities on an interim basis.

(Photo: Terry Wilson/OHLImages)