Jonathon Brodie - Recorder & Times

The Brockville Braves announced Friday that Jesse Winchester will be the team's new head coach.

The news comes just two weeks after Brockville was knocked out of the first round of the playoffs by the Ottawa Jr. Senators in five games. The day after the post-season exit the team and former head coach Colin Birkas, who recently signed with the RMC Paladins hockey program, decided to go in different directions.

Winchester coached the final few weeks of the Braves U18 season, but the bulk of the 33-yearold's hockey resume comes from his own experience on the ice.

Winchester spent six seasons in the NHL after graduating from Colgate University and tallied 20 goals and 50 assists in 285 NHL games before head injuries pushed him to an early retirement after the 2013-14 season. He spent five seasons with the Ottawa Senators and one season with the Florida Panthers.

Braves co-owner and general manager Dustin Traylen knows Winchester personally and the pair have been on the bench together several times as coaches with the Cornwall Colts a few years ago, so Traylen has first-hand knowledge of the type of person he's bringing in.

Traylen reached out to Winchester, who had played three seasons with the Colts between 2001 and 2004, to gauge his interest in coaching CCHL hockey before eventually signing him this week. Winchester will also be running the Braves High Performance Hockey Academy as well.

"Thrilled," Tryalen said about adding Winchester to the staff. "What else can you say about being overwhelmingly happy?" This past Monday Traylen got a preview of how his new coach might run practices with the Braves owner checking out a skills session with Winchester and a few prospects.

Throughout the practice Traylen tried to critique what was going on, but eventually gave up on that idea and simply decided to settle on just liking what he was watching. He enjoyed the intensity and creativity of the drills held with Winchester laying out the purpose of each drill to the players. When players came off the ice they were dripping sweat and thrilled with how the session went, said Traylen.

"It was the best I've seen. I've been in Montreal, Toronto and Boston and many places to see how things work at different camps and different associations and this is the best I've ever seen," Traylen said. "It was masterful."

Traylen contends he's not just bringing in a big name to man the bench. He believes he's adding someone who will bring back what he believes are the Braves core values.

"(Winchester) is college educated, he's a very good communicator. He's very professional. On time for everything. Will never miss a practice. He's a pro. We were looking for a professional, a professional teacher and I think we signed one," Traylen said. "It's a respect for the game, respect for your teammates. Basically just respect and that's what he brings."

Winchester will be the team's third coach in as many seasons. Traylen sees his new bench boss as maybe a middle ground between himself, who coached the team in 2015-16 and had a more hardnose style, and Birkas, who could be described as more of a players' coach.

"Jesse is a safe bet on both ends because he's not going to take any crap, but I don't think he's going to be a yeller or a screamer," Traylen said.

The Braves will be hosting free practices with Winchester at the Memorial Centre on April 11, 12 and 13 between 1 and 2 p.m for players between Grades 7 and 12. There is a maximum of 10 players per session and spots are available on a first come, first serve basis. You can reserve a spot for a practice by emailing Traylen at dustin. traylen@brockvillebraves.com.

Original Story at Recorder.ca