Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.
The entire team – his son included – quit after coaches were fired. The Firebirds’ next scheduled game is Friday, at home against Sarnia.
Reports surfaced late on Sunday night that shortly after the Flint Firebirds shootout victory over the Oshawa Generals that the team had fired its coaching staff, which includes coach John Gruden and assistant coaches Dave Karpa and Petr Jonak.
The players reportedly went into the management office, threw their jerseys on the floor and left after learning of the firings. The Firebirds’ owner was unhappy with the amount of playing time that the coach was giving his son, 17-year-old defenseman Håkon Nilsen.
The Oshawa Generals’ result against the Flint Firebirds became secondary news following the end of the Ontario Hockey League contest in Michigan Sunday, November 8.
The report initially came up on the Twitter account “OHLInsiders” before eventually being confirmed, also via Twitter, by ESPN’s John Buccigross and Ryan Slocum of WJRT television in Flint. They’ve got a few talented players on their roster – including players looking to raise their National Hockey League Draft stock – so hopefully this mess will get sorted out sooner rather than later.
John Buccigross (@Buccigross) Another source: “such a show of solidarity when the boys bonded together and walked out”.
Rolf Nilsen called a meeting for 8 a.m. on Monday morning to discuss the team’s options. Even Hakon Nilsen, who appeared in all three games over the weekend, has walked out on the team. The Whalers were sold in January and Rolf Nilsen is the current owner.
The Firebirds are 7-9-0-1 and sit second to last in the 10-team Western Conference. Stay tuned for more from this weird story.
