Chris Lewgood says he wasn’t surprised that he was dismissed by the Estevan Bruins last week.
The club announced on April 15 that Lewgood had been “relieved of his duties” after serving as the head coach and general manager since 2013. The move came more than a month after the 2020 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) playoffs were halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As a coach, you have to be prepared for those sorts of things. I was lucky enough to be here with the team for seven years, and that’s a long time,” Lewgood told the Mercury. “At some point, you’re going to fall out of favour with enough people and these sorts of things are going to happen.”
But he remains proud of his accomplishments in Estevan. The Bruins made the playoffs each season he was here, the club hosted the 2016 Western Canada Cup, won three straight division titles from 2016-17 to 2018-19, made it to the league semifinal each year from 2017-19 and reached the league final in 2018 – their first appearance since 1999.
“This certainly doesn’t take away from what came before. I think the team’s in a very good place right now. I think the Estevan Bruins are going to have a lot of success over the next couple of years, and I’m certainly proud of my share in helping them get to that point,” he said.
He was also quick to point out that a lot of people played a role in the team’s success over the last few seasons.
The run to the Canalta Cup final in 2018, when they lost in Game 7 to the Nipawin Hawks, is one of the highlights from his time here.
“Certainly the teamwork that came from our group in 2017-18 that ended in Game 7 of the league championship series was a highlight, and the comeback in the quarter-finals last year against the Humboldt Broncos was a highlight,” said Lewgood.
Estevan rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to beat Humboldt in that series. Game 7 was played in front of a sold out crowd in Estevan, and won by the Bruins in overtime.
He was also proud to see former Bruin defenceman Nolan Nicholas win the Senior CLASS (Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School) Award for NCAA Division 1 hockey earlier this month, and was pleased to watch the development of so many players over the years.
Lewgood was looking forward to coaching the group of players that are returning for next season and seeing the work of the club’s scouting staff pay dividends.
“There’s going to be a lot of good days ahead for the Estevan Bruins, and it would have been nice to be a part of it, but those individuals, I’ll be rooting for those guys and the team to have success going forward,” he said.
This week's edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.
