This is Part 2 of the DUBNetwork’s conversation with Victoria Royals President & General Manager Cameron Hope. Part 1 can be found HERE
Over recent years Victoria has iced different roster builds, from bruising and physical teams to the smaller and skilled teams of recent years.
When asked what determines a team’s build, Hope said, “I really think it’s just the players you have. And sometimes you take on the identity of the guys that are your leadership group.”
“At times you’re surprised as what you think the team is going to be, is not what it turns out to be and you have to make a change on the fly during the season.”
“I hearken back to the 2013 draft when we drafted Matthew Phillips and Dante Hannoun along with a number of other guys in that group that weren’t big guys. The identity that age group was fast skilled, quick, not necessarily bruising because they’re not big guys. And so they became the core group of guys, we surrounded them with other players for last year’s run.”
Hope again gives credit to his coaching staff for maximizing the players potential. “Whatever the identity of the group seems to be, the coaches can identify that and then decide what type of game that they’re going to need to play to win. I think it changes even during the year sometimes, as different guys emerge and a different style of play seems to emerge with them. It is one of the reasons I’m glad I don’t coach because it is on them to figure out what they have and how they can get the most out of the players.”
However, Hope admits that sometimes plans change. “At times you’re surprised as what you think the team is going to be, is not what it turns out to be and you have to make a change on the fly during the season.”
Last season, the Royals saw an opportunity to push for some extended playoff success and the team made moves to load up their roster. However, even with the added firepower the injury bug struck and Victoria fell victim to a second round playoff exit at the hands of the Tri-City Americans.
This season’s team will likely not see such aggressive additions to the roster, perhaps even moving in the opposite direction and moving players for future prospect pieces. When asked if there is a point upcoming where the Royals look to make some moves, Hope said, “I think it’s fair to say that that goes on all year, there’s always a little bit of discussion about it as you go along. The time when it really gets serious is after the Christmas break, because the roster and trade deadline for the WHL is the 10th of January, so it comes up very fast. By then you have a pretty good idea of what the league looks like, and sometimes there’s five or six teams that you can put your finger on and they’re contenders and they’re going to load up. and you know, the fun begins. But a lot of years, especially in the West, it’s been anybody’s game where there’s six, seven, eight teams and nobody can really tell who’s going to emerge. And in that situation there’s a lot less movement. We’re a little bit reactive when it comes to what we’re planning all year, watching and deciding but really the rubber hits the road after Christmas.”
“Whatever the identity of the group seems to be, the coaches can identify that and then decide what type of game that they’re going to need to play to win.”
Contrary to last season, where the club made many moves going into the playoffs, Hope says that is not necessarily the plan this season. “We actually don’t like to make trades, all evidence to the contrary with what went on last spring, but we really don’t like to.”
Hope commented on handling rumors and potential requests for his older players, saying “I personally make sure that if a veteran guy is in his 20-year-old year and there’s talk out there about whether he might get dealt or people are knocking on the door, I always make those players part of the conversation because they deserve it. And they grow up pretty fast, by the time they’re 20 years old, they’re pretty sophisticated and they know what’s going on. Actually they’re plugged into the league better than I am, sometimes they know what’s happening more than I do.”
When it gets to the point of assessing players for trades, Hope was asked what qualities he looks for in players beyond surface stats. “There’s quite a bit of difference around the league in terms of scouting approach,” Hope said. “We really spend a lot of time finding out about players around the league. We stay active with it after the Bantam draft and don’t stop there. We make sure that we stay really informed about what our players are like both on and off the ice, work ethic and other kinds of intangibles. I’m proud of the fact that we do that. We look for a player that you think has something and maybe it just hasn’t had a chance to come out yet. Players like a Vladamir Bobylev or Jared Legien, those kinds of guys. Sometimes you’re wrong. But every once in a while, it’s gratifying to see that you’re right.”
Looking ahead, Victoria heads out on the road for a lengthy road trip through Alberta, the first significant time away after some long home stands. The time away will allow the Royals home arena, the Save-On-Foods Memorial Arena to prepare and host the World Junior Championships.
Hope was asked about the time away and how he felt it will go for his club. “It’s going to be interesting,” he said. “We’re not even having the team come back here after the break, the team is going to convene in Calgary and start the road trip. I think it’s going to be a challenge for it to be the first long road trip, and all the guys coming back from eating too much turkey over the holiday break. It’s always fun to get on the road like that, but that’s a lot of games through Alberta and against some really good teams. It comes right in the middle of when you’re making a decision on the roster for the remainder of the year as well, so it’s going to be hectic.”
(Photo: @Fedyck_Fotos)
In his seventh year with the team and still always personable and accommodating, Hope was asked if he still likes working with players at this level and development. “I tell people this all the time, it’s like a real job, only better because working in hockey is wonderful anyway. If you’re working in a good organization with supportive ownership, which we have, it is great. At this level, I just enjoy it so much compared to working with the pros for the obvious reason of just being so optimistic. Everybody who’s in the Western Hockey League is on their ascendancy, there’s still time for surprises and time for guys to exceed what their expectations are. Everybody’s either trying to be a pro or trying to move on to a college career or some other career through our league. There’s no one who’s descending, they’re all ascending and it’s the most exciting thing. The only sad part about this job is when your guys leave at 20-years-old, but you get over that pretty quick because you got a new group of guys. I wouldn’t change this job for anything.”
Cameron Hope is in his seventh season as the General Manager of the Victoria Royals. The Edmonton, AB native is the second general manager in the team’s history and fourth in the franchise’s history. Hope is a graduate of the University of Alberta, with degrees in Arts (Sociology) and Law. Hope was presented the Lloyd Saunders Memorial Trophy for WHL Executive of the Year in 2013-14 and was the Western Conference nominee for the award in 2015-16
