ESTEVAN - Drew Kocur is looking forward to leading the Eagle Sky Estevan Bruins, both behind the bench and the overall decision-making process.
The club announce on May 2 that it had removed the interim tag from Kocur's title, and he would be the head coach and general manager moving forward. Kocur finished the 2024-25 season in the role after the club parted ways with Jason Tatarnic in mid-January.
The Bruins' executive went through a lengthy selection process, but ultimately felt Kocur was the best applicant.
Kocur said he wanted to be at the helm of the Bruins because of the team's history and tradition. He described Estevan as a great hockey community.
It helped that he's familiar with the community. Kocur was hired as the assistant coach and director of sales in 2023. He said he has met a lot of great people, and there are excellent sponsors. He also learned a lot from his time as the interim head coach and GM.
"It's different from junior B to junior A," said Kocur, who guided the Pilot Butte Storm to a provincial junior B championship before coming to Estevan. "There's those two extra days a week with the guys."
"There's obviously managing the bench in certain situations, travel is a little different for sure, but I definitely learned a lot," he added later.
Hours after the club announced Kocur's hiring, he was evaluating the team's future during its annual spring camp. Some players have already committed to the Bruins for next season.
"We have a lot of good prospects here looking to next year, and we're looking for some new bodies coming in and making an impact right away," said Kocur.
Members of last season's team that they have talked to are planning to come back, he said.
Kocur was also busy on May 3 with the club's annual Sportsman's Dinner fundraiser, where his second cousin, former NHL enforcer Joey Kocur, was among the guest speakers.
Bruins' president Riley Tetreault said Kocur brings a lot of passion and pride to the job, and has a desire to develop players and deliver a strong product on the ice.
"Someone who has development at the forefront of their mind aligns with what the board's goals are moving forward," said Tetreault. "And the plan that he laid out was incredibly detailed and intimate, had a lot of information in the approach, his strategies for team building, and how he can be collaborative with the rest of our organization."
Tetreault said Kocur was very complimentary about the team's scouting staff, the prospects they're identifying and how they can fit in the system.
Kocur's experience in the last two months of the regular season didn't factor into the executive's decision, and every candidate had a clean slate during the interview process.
"You can see the sincerity in how he talks about the contacts and the relationships he's made in Estevan, but we were very careful throughout our entire process to make sure that we were seeing everybody for the first time," said Tetreault.
According to Tetreault, the club had more than 50 candidates with varying experiences in the game.
"That's the tough thing about hockey. There's very few jobs and a lot of people that are able to do it and can be a good fit. It's not an easy decision and we're happy with our choice."
Kocur said he has received a lot of congratulatory messages from sponsors and other people he has met during his time in Estevan, and he and his wife are happy to be in the Energy City.
