Head Coach and General Manager, Paul Dyck, has signed a 5-year contract extension, keeping him at the helm of the Steinbach Pistons into the 2030-31 season. The announcement was made public at the Fire & Ice Banquet on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of 560 team supporters.
Dyck’s tenure with the Pistons dates back to 2010 when he came on, initially in a sales/marketing role, which evolved quickly into jumping as Assistant Coach, then being named Head Coach midway through the 2011-12 season. It was that following year he would lead the team to it’s first ever MJHL title.
Under Paul’s leadership, the Pistons have accrued some impressive stats:
- 560-181-50 regular season record
- 95 Playoff wins
- 7 MJHL finals appearances
- 3 MJHL Titles
- 1 Anavet Cup win
- 1 Western Canada Cup & 2 Centennial Cup appearances
“I feel extreme honour and privilege with being able to coach our team,” says Dyck. “I am so grateful for the leadership of our board of directors and the support they have been to me and for believing in the vision of our organization” Dyck shares that year one in Steinbach’s new Southeast Event Centre has been incredible and looks forward to creating more memories going forward for our fans and our community.
Where he wants to be
“Exciting time for Candice and me,” he says with a big smile. “I’m going to be here for another five years, and it’s where I wanted to be, in the place I’d really want to be. But, boy, the years have gone by so quickly. It just seemed like I had signed an extension a couple of years ago, and that was for five years. Kind of snuck up on us, and it feels great, because I love the direction of our organization and the excitement of it. We’re building, and there are special opportunities that lie ahead for our organization.”
Relationship with the board
For Dyck, he says his relationship with the board is a strong one, and the two work hand-in-hand to make the Steinbach Pistons one of the top organizations in Canada. “We’ve had a great relationship from day one,” he says with a grin. “I didn’t know any of them particularly well prior to 2012, but that first year, I think, went a long ways in establishing trust and we’ve been on a pretty solid path since then. I’m privileged to work with this board. They have such a strong commitment to excellence and the vision to always look forward. It was evident early on that they were special, and it was I wanted to be a part of. I’m thankful they’ve been behind us, driving us not just at the rink but also in the community. They’ve really helped us establish ourselves. We’ve grown so much, we don’t require them to be quite as active as they were those first few years. There was a lot of heavy lifting that needed to be done. Very fortunate to be in the situation with the continuity we’ve had on our board of directors and just the overall strength of the men in the group.”
From the board’s point of view, President Grant Lazaruk says the board is proud to share this news noting Paul’s commitment to our community.
“Paul has been a tremendous leader for our organization and a great mentor for our players,” says Lazaruk. “His commitment to developing young men, his passion for the game, and the culture he’s helped establish with the Steinbach Pistons make him the right person to guide our team forward. We’re excited to have Paul Dyck leading our program for the next five years.”
Impact on recruitment
With his position with the organization solid for the foreseeable future, Dyck says that stability will be a factor when recruiting players. “I think it’s advantageous on both sides,” he details. “Sometimes when I’m recruiting a player, often, one of their parents may ask, ‘What are your intentions moving forward?’ I think everyone kind of craves stability. When you have a player that’s with an organization for a year or two and there’s change and a new staff comes in, sometimes the circumstances change for that player. People have seen, we have a track record of being loyal to players. We love when guys can be here for two, three, four years. I think this just kind of continues down that path.”
Same man, new suit, same ties
With the ink dry on his contract, Dyck can now think about maybe treating himself to something new, although he admits he thought to what he might want to splurge on hasn’t crossed his mind. “Boy, a new suit, that’s a possibility,” he says laughing. “Maybe to start up next season. I have a decent selection right now. I definitely don’t need any more ties, (he chuckles). Maybe for the summer, maybe some new golf balls.”
With files provided by: Dave Anthony – Steinbach Online
