Lee Scheide says: Jackalopes mend fences with McKee
When Odessa Jackalopes co-owner Rick Gasser made the announcement on Jan. 26, 2007, that the team had fired longtime head coach Don McKee, he said then the phone call was one of the toughest he had ever had to make.
Pretty sure the most recent conversation between the pair was a bit awkward as well, at best.
That’s because when Gasser found out McKee was going to be in the Permian Basin for a visit, he contacted the former coach to begin the healing process and close a festering, three-year-old rift caused by the dismissal.
“It’s time,” Gasser said. “Don is a huge part of the history of the Odessa Jackalopes and it’s only right that he be recognized for his contributions to the hockey club and the organization.”
To that end, McKee will be honored with a spot in the Jackalopes Hall of Fame during a ceremony before Saturday’s contest with the Laredo Bucks. First, Odessa returns home to Ector County Coliseum for a contest at 7:05 tonight against the Corpus Christi IceRays.
Ironically, Saturday is Paul Gillis bobblehead night, as well.
Gasser’s right, though — it is time.
McKee led the Jackalopes through thick-and-thin times, winning the Coach of Year Awards in both the Western Professional Hockey League for the 2000-2001 season and the Central Hockey League for the 2001-2002 season.
The team won 47 games during the 2001-2002 campaign, best in the CHL, to earn the Governor’s Cup. However, a first-round exit in the playoffs put a damper on the season and that unfortunately was a familiar thread for the team during that time.
In four playoff appearances in his eight years behind the bench, McKee’s teams never advanced past the second round.
Still, the veteran coach kept the team alive and competitive in one of the most difficult markets in the Central Hockey League, giving hockey fans in the area a chance to see live action at least 30 nights a year.
During his coaching career with the Jackalopes, McKee fashioned a record of 241-159-52 in 452 games behind the bench.
Ultimately, though, the lack of postseason success, along with the regular-season struggles in 2006-07 prompted Gasser and co-owners Bill and Tracey Nyborg to make the unpopular decision to take the team in a another direction.
The Jackalopes were 16-16-4 and three games into what would become a nine-game losing streak when the move was made to make assistant coach Doug Johnson the interim coach the rest of the season and then conduct a search for a new coach for the team.
McKee, a longtime college coach before entering the professional ranks, returned to the collegiate ranks, accepting the job at Lakeland University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, in May 2007. He coached the Thunderwolves to a 57-27-1-2 record in two seasons with the school.
He’s been away from the bench since then, giving him the chance to travel and prompting this week’s visit to Odessa and the sudden, needed chance at closure for all parties involved.
That’s the smartest call of all.
