Chiefly, Club Builds Success On Stability

For a sense of perspective on how far the Spokane Chiefs have progressed as a team and a franchise, here’s a tale from the not-so-distant past.

The bedraggled Chiefs, losers of every game they played in the month of November 1989, were heading into a Western Hockey League game at Portland against the Winter Hawks.

One problem: Because of borderline insolvency, they didn’t own enough sticks to play the game.

The Winter Hawks, understanding they might be operating at a bit of an unfair advantage if the Chiefs played without implements, benevolently loaned the visitors enough to make it through the night.

At the time, the Chiefs’ front office gave new meaning to the hockey term “fore-checking:” Out of every five checks written, four bounced like warm pucks on concrete.

Equipment suppliers were weary of subsidizing dead-beats; front-office personnel were suspicious of one another.

Players greatly exceeded posted speed limits trying to get their checks to the bank while they still might be honored.

And the team played in a barn whose primary decoration was the lovely patterns the asbestos made when it flaked off exposed pipes - a shack permanently redolent of unsavory pachyderm by-products from long-forgotten circuses.

That picture fresh in your mind, come with us now to the present.

The Chiefs play in what is, by comparison, a palace. Attendance for the regular season was up by more than 106,000 - roughly 60 percent - with 10 crowds in excess of 10,450.

They are rated the best team in junior hockey.

Suffice it to say they don’t have to borrow sticks from anybody these days.

A crowd of 6,849 showed up to see the Chiefs open the WHL West Division playoffs against Portland at the Arena Friday night. The Winter Hawks pulled out a dramatic 3-2 overtime win.

The attendance figure was probably diminished a bit by the fact the two meet again tonight, that NCAA hoops were on the tube, and that the pairing against the division’s No. 6 team might be less attractive than some other series down the playoff trail.

Also, the Chiefs owned the Winter Hawks (6-2) during the regular season. But the regular season holds limited relevance, considering the teams played 72 games to eliminate only one team - Prince George - from the divisional playoffs.

Still, 50 wins before the playoffs stands as a franchise zenith, and credit for this season’s success should surely be passed to coach Mike Babcock. He feels his team will prosper in the playoffs because they have played “playoff hockey” all season.

“Playoff hockey” means more refined skating and less raw testosterone - more shots on goal than shots to the head. It’s good defense, strong goaltending and a healthy respect for the value of every possession.

But in a larger sense, beyond the run of 12 straight wins that preceded Friday’s game, this Chiefs’ period of prosperity can be attributed to a rare commodity in junior hockey - franchise stability.

A trait of this business is impermanence: the steady turnover of players, staff shuffles and quick-deal GMs who would make Monte Hall blush. But the Chiefs have broken this pattern.

“The No. 1 thing has been our ownership,” Chiefs GM Tim Speltz said between periods Friday night. “(Owner Bobby Brett) has given us the opportunity to be successful by allowing us to hire the best people we can.”

And then - and this is even more tricky - keeping them happy.

Speltz offers an example of that, dating back to the middle of last season, when losses were stacking up.

“There was a time when we weren’t playing well, but we worked to make sure the coaches were happy and they knew we weren’t panicking,” Speltz said. “They needed to know we were going to be patient with them and we needed to know they were going to be patient with us.

“Through it all, I never felt that if we didn’t win the next two hockey games that we were going to have to make changes. There was never that pressure.”

That sense of long-range purpose, then, was passed down through the coaches to the players. And to the same degree that players who are worried about team finances cannot excel, those who realize they’re in a solid franchise can feel free to achieve.

An axiom in junior hockey is that the regular season pays the bills and the playoffs provide whatever profit a franchise will accrue.

The Chiefs, clearly, have gone beyond that.

“All along, we’ve never said that we need another (playoff) game because of the income,” said Speltz, who this week was honored as the top executive in the WHL. “What we’ve said, though, is that we want to play another game because it’s important in building our hockey team.”

Building a hockey team?

Yes, that’s clearly something these guys - Brett, Speltz and Babcock - know all about.

You can contact Dave Boling by voice mail at 459-5577, extension 5504.

, DataTimes