Weidlich Quotes and Whatnot

Here's the link to my story about Steve Weidlich leaving from today's Times for those of you who can access it.

I guess the reasons for what happened are pretty obvious, as Weidlich was making the best move for his career and Coach Ruskowski wants to take things in a bit of a different direction this season.

Ruskowski said that Weidlich's decision to leave Laredo was one that Ruskowski also had a say in, but that Weidlich is leaving on good terms and will always have friends within the Bucks organization.

Weidlich obviously has some regrets about leaving, but he said his time here was something he will always cherish and he knows this was the best move for his career. At one point, he literally said he was doing "what was best for Steve Weidlich," almost as though this was a move made purely for his name and his career, not his personal satisfaction.

Here are some quotes from each of them:

Ruskowski:

"I have a lot of respect for him, he’s been with me since the start of our campaign here. He’s a great guy, and we get along very well; it was just time to try something different.

"He’s got the playing/assistant-coaching job, and I know he’ll be successful. I wish him the best; it was just time for things to change a little bit. I think that now he’s rejuvenated, and he’ll realize now what the coaching side of things is about being on the other side of the fence. I think he'll do a great job, and I wish him nothing but the best. Obviously, he's leaving, but we made no big deal about it. We're still on great terms.

"I think it’s a step in the right direction for him if he wants to continue in the coaching aspect of it. He learn the ins and outs behind the scenes, see how they recruit, how they strategize. It'll be a challenge, but what’s life without challenges?

"I think just a little change for everybody needed to take place. It's a change of scenery for him and chance for me to go a different way, try to get some youth to come in here. I really like him, it was just time for us to move on. We parted in great ways, no hard feelings. I told him if he needs anything, give me a call. 'Once my boy, always my boy."

Weidlich:

"I based my decision on a few things. This is a great opportunity for myself personally. Being the player/assistant coach is something I had looked forward to doing in the future, as far pursuing a coaching career. I had to take advantage because this is something that might not come up again.

"I love Laredo. I've been there for seven years, so it's pretty much my home now. I just had to do what was best for my career.

"I look back on my time in Laredo as a great experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Those two championships are something no one can ever take away from me. I learned a lot from Terry as a player, and I hope to apply that to my own coaching career. I have tons of great friends in Laredo, and I'll miss it tremendously, but I'll always look back at it in a good way.

"It's always been a thought of mine to pursue coaching later on in my career, but I never thought it would come so early. I'm only 28 years old. But for most players, their career is over at 32, 33 years old pretty, so they're much retiring and having to start a new career. Having the opportunity to start a second career that is still in hockey was something I could not pass up.

"This will be the team's inaugural season. They had a team in the ECHL last year and folded, so this is the first season in the SPHL. There's new owners, new everything. The rink is the same, but it's been redone since the hurricane.

"I’m looking forward to a lot. It’s a new city, good people and a different role that I’ll playing on the team. Well, playing-wise, my role will be the same, but I'll have more of a leadership role with making decisions on and off the ice. I'm looking forward learning to that part of the business."


Now that everything with this is said and done, I'm curious to hear your opinions about it. Are you sad to see Weidlich go? What do you think he brought to the team that could be missed this season? Are there any other players who won't be coming back that you'll miss?