Cole Zahn may be stepping away from the bench, but he isn't leaving the Estevan Bruins.
After serving as the club's assistant coach the last two years under Keith Cassidy, Zahn is scaling back his duties due to a young family and responsibilities with his other job.
Zahn and his wife, Brittany, had a daughter last July and he wants to spend more time with his family.
"I talked to the executive just after Christmas. It just got to be too much, obviously with having a smaller child, being away from her really took its toll," he said.
"Right now my main focus is taking care of my family and making sure my daughter grows up and knows who her dad is. I want to be around and spend as much time with her as I can."
Hired in May 2011, shortly after Cassidy, Zahn is staying in Estevan and still wants to be actively involved with the Bruins.
"I had a good talk with Keith right around Christmas and said I'd like to stay with the team in some kind of scouting role. The organization has done a lot of good things for me and my family. Just giving me a chance to come down here and be a coach was huge, and I wanted to give back to them if I could."
Zahn said he will primarily scout players in southern Saskatchewan and the United States, but will also branch out to tournaments in Alberta and Manitoba.
He noted that it was an easy decision to stay in Estevan, despite no longer being behind the bench.
"The city has treated me and my family with nothing but respect. There are great people around here and Estevan's opened their town to us. Another big thing is obviously both myself and Brittany have very good jobs down here, and it's something we want to stay in for a long time."
In summing up his two seasons, Zahn said he was satisfied with the team's results in 2011-12, but made no bones about the issues this season.
"Going back to last season, I thought we did fairly well as a team, coming in and rebuilding. Obviously, coming in with the help of Rick Oakes, I thought he did a fantastic job recruiting guys and getting guys down here.
"Looking at (this) season, I thought we'd have a very good team and things just didn't pan out with injuries and guys leaving, and there were some other factors that just didn't pan out. That's the way some hockey seasons go. It was a little disappointing the way it all ended, to end up losing to Yorkton that way."
Zahn said off-ice issues were a big reason for the team's lack of success.
"There were some things behind the scenes that went on, that I don't think the kids put themselves in good situations. I don't think they were down here for the right reasons.
"I don't want to lump the group together, but I think there were a couple of players that put themselves in front of the team. There were a couple of incidents where I think a lot of the team was looking around saying, 'What the heck were these guys doing breaking rules and putting themselves ahead of the team?'" Zahn reflected.
"I think the leadership group has gotta settle that down, they gotta step in and say, 'We're here for one reason, to win a championship, and if you're not here for that, we don't want you here.'"
Zahn has a long history with Cassidy. Aside from being an assistant to him for two years in Estevan and three years with the Selkirk Steelers, he also played under Cassidy for two seasons in Selkirk.
"From my point of view, he's a good friend and it's a (crappy) situation to be in. We've known each other for quite awhile, and to see a guy like him get let go, it was tough on me, but at the same time, that happens in the hockey world.
"He does a heck of a job with the younger guys, he's a great technical coach and I think he's going to land on his feet and land in a real good job. Any organization would be fortunate to have a guy like him as their coach."
Although he's taking a time-out from the coaching ranks, Zahn has plans to return to the bench at some point.
"It's definitely in the back of my mind right now," he said.
"Obviously it's still something I love to do. I love working with the young kids. Hockey's a huge passion of mine. I don't want to let that go and that's why I'm staying around scouting.
"Coaching still interests me, but at this point in my life, I can't commit that time right now."
