Curtis Warren, who local hockey fans might remember as a scoring star for the former Rama Aces, has been named coach of the year in the North Division of the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League (GMHL).
Under the leadership of Warren, the Bradford Bulls had a stellar season, making it all the way to the finals.
When the Bulls started the season 11-7-2, Warren knew he could rally his team of veterans to make a strong push down the stretch. The Bulls went 14-2-2 in the back half of the season and finished third in the North Division.
They then swept the Bancroft Rockhounds in the division quarter-finals and came back from being down 0-2 to win their semifinals match with cross-town rivals the Bradford Rattlers in Game 5, before falling to a team Warren used to play for, the Temiscaming Titans, in the division finals.
Warren became head coach of the Bulls in 2019 after spending the previous season as an assistant. Despite a losing record the previous year, the Bulls went 29-12-1 in his first season at the helm before falling to the Rattlers in the division semifinals.
With last year cancelled due to COVID, going 25-9-4 and pushing as far as they did in the playoffs was a credit to the program built with general manager/owner Brandon Billie and the players’ commitment, says Warren.
“It’s a weird award because it’s not something you start the season thinking about, and it’s one thing to win coach of the year but the issue with that trophy is Brandon Billie is the architect of the team and the players are the ones that show up and put the work in day in and day out,” he said. “It was an easy group to lead, and it all came so fast. The playoffs were a roller-coaster ride, and it all ends so quick. It’s a surreal feeling."
Last season was unpredictable, with Warren and the players not knowing if they’d play at all, and outside of two games against the Rattlers, they didn’t. That made it difficult for Warren and Billie to keep their players invested.
“I tried to use the situation as motivation for them," said Warren. “We want to try to move the guys on who want to move on, and a lot of these guys didn’t get seen in their 20-year-old year, so I used that as motivation. I told them we can only control what we can control, and it sucked not getting the season, but we can use that to motivate us.”
Warren, as a player, won the Russell Cup in the GMHL with the Titans while leading the league in goals. He then had two stellar seasons in Rama, leading the team in scoring and becoming the team's captain.
Warren’s transition from goal scorer to coach has been smooth thanks, in part, to his relationship with Billie.
“Being a younger guy, a lot of my coaching techniques came from what I liked as a player,” he said. “What I’ve been able to do over the last few years is tweak my structure, adapt to the team, and implement what I feel is right. Brandon Billie gets a lot of credit as well; we talk day in and day out.
“We actually played against each other in the GMHL conference finals — it went seven games — and then I played pro against him. We played against each other for three years, and then my last year in the FHL (Federal Prospects Hockey League) I got traded to Cornwall and we were teammates and that’s when we got close. Not only does he know my attitude is about going to the rink to win, but he knows we’re on the same page with this program, and it’s important that we have the same goal.”
As one of the younger coaches in the league, Warren finds his age advantageous for connecting with players and building trust — something that’s important when dealing with younger athletes.
“I try to be as transparent as possible,” he said. “It’s about keeping the right attitude and being ready to work and learning from the vets. I tried to communicate to them to look at the good and bad of it all and to take from that everything that will make them a better player.
"Our organization was left in a better spot because of this run we went on and the way they did it. A lot of people doubted us and didn’t think we could do it, and we really stuck together. Going down 0-2 to the Rats can be discouraging, but we showed up and went to war for those next three games. It shows the charisma and the character our group has.”
In Warren’s eyes, one of the most important aspects of being a head coach is helping his players continue their careers and supporting them in any way he can. Recently, he was at Game 5 of the Alliston Hornets and Stayner Siskins Provincial Junior Hockey League playoff series to see a former player score the game-winning goal in overtime.
“Coaching is awesome and I’m starting to see the dividends pay off of the guys you bring in as 18-year-olds and they leave for higher leagues and they come back and ask for help,” Warren said. “I talked to him before the game, and it was unreal to go see him score the OT winner. That’s the reward of coaching and it’s amazing to see something like that.”
Warren has a desire not only to win but to encourage player growth while fostering a locker room that’s more like a family.
At the end of each season, he hosts exit interviews and asks for feedback from the players on his coaching.
“I tell them that just like players getting better, we want to get better, too. And I can’t say enough about this group. It was not all up all season and they fought adversity all year. I think it’s very important that a lot of our young guys coming back saw the process of this run and the preparation that went in and the little mistakes,” Warren explained.
“The experience as they get older and them seeing the emotions of the older guys at the end of the season was very valuable. Those are real men with real emotions. Junior only lasts so long, and you don’t really realize when you’re in the moment. That’s what’s so special about it. Our foundation is now set because of the players in this organization, and that’s why it’s almost unfair that just my name is on the trophy.”
