Huska at the helm

(Huska named head coach in July 2007)

Is it the right thing to do as a member of the media to be high-fiving those around me today following the Kelowna Rockets announcement that they have locked up head coach Ryan Huska for another three years?
Probably not.
But then again, I am anything but normal and frankly don't consider myself as a hard nosed journalist looking behind closed doors to find out where the controversy lies within the team.
What I am is a glorified cheerleader for the Rockets organization on the radio. My bread and butter that sits on my kitchen table is indirectly responsible to  my employment at the radio station and the job that is created by the WHL having a franchise, the Kelowna Rockets, in the city that I call home.
So when good things happen within the organization I like to celebrate them because they indirectly affect what I do even though I am not on the teams payroll.
Coach Huska's extension means no less than three more years of spending time with a quality person for no less than eight months of the year. Sure, we do countless interviews for radio but we also eat together, travel together and often talk about other issues that are anything but hockey related. While we definitely have less hair than when he took over the head coaching job in 2007, we have the common bond of being fathers to a young family and juggling what we also have a passion for - the game of hockey.
I am pleased to say it is a friendship first, business second.
It is about trust.
It's been built over years.
It hasn't happened over night.
Fortunately, while some coaches are extremely guarded, specifically with the teams radio broadcaster, the same doesn't hold true with Huska.I not only appreciate that confidence he shows in me, I also don't take it for granted.
The old saying is, 'You don't know what you've got until its gone'.
Trust me, everyday when I head to the rink and encounter Ryan Huska, I know for a fact I have it better than any other broadcaster in the league.