Brantford goes first class
They are the epitome of an organization with class that starts at the top with owner Zach Hyman and his general manager brother Spencer Hyman over to head coach Jay McKee — and carries on throughout. Winners on the ice and off of it, the Brantford Bulldogs are one of a number of Ontario Hockey League franchises who go first class all the way.
To be sure, the same cannot be said of the Barrie Colts, who overcame a three games to one deficit in the Eastern Conference finals — mostly on the strength of a magical performance by their goalie — to upend Brantford and advance to the OHL championship series against the Kitchener Rangers.
Barrie may have won the series — but the Colts certainly lost respect and any reputation they may have had for the totally classless, ignorant and arrogant approach they took following the Game 7 series clinching win in Brantford.
As written by Brantford Expositor sports writer Brian Smiley, this is how the post game press gathering played out.
“With journalists assembled as they have been throughout the entire series, the Brantford Bulldogs took the classy route, with head coach Jay McKee and captain Jake O’Brien showing up to the media room and conducting thoughtful and emotional interviews for more than seven minutes.
“The Barrie Colts? Well, their head coach and captain came to the media room first and decided to make their approximately one minute press conference a spectacle.
“After head coach Dylan Smoskowitz and captain Kashawn Aitcheson sat down at the head table, they were asked a pair of questions by OHL Director of Communications Josh Sweetland.
“Smoskowitz and Aitcheson proceeded to answer both queries with the phrase, ‘No one cares, work harder.’ When the microphone was opened up to members of the media, Smoskowitz and Aitcheson continued to answer every question the same way: ‘No one cares, work harder.’ The clip of the press conference has since gone viral.
“The fact is at that point, people did care and they were trying to work. Assembled media at the game were there to do a job, to relay the feelings and thoughts from a coach and player who had just won a massive championship.”
Wow. Unbelievable. If only the late David Branch, the venerable commissioner of so many decades was around to deal with a snot-nose coach like Smoskowitz and his clue-less captain.
As for Brantford and the way the Bulldogs do business, it is the way a reputable OHL franchise does business. Brantford, like the Windsor Spitfires and the Soo Greyhounds and the London Knights and the Flint Firebirds and the Ottawa 67’s and the Peterborough Petes are examples of OHL teams who conduct business the way it should be conducted.
Barrie Colts? They are Headless Horsemen who can’t even win with class.
Hopefully they are heavily fined.
Absolutely.Bush league performance.
Fined $15,000! Announced today.