AHL Hershey Bears

Winning and Class Part of the New Fixter/Jerrard Regime

Published on July 2, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release


I was driving to GIANT Center today when Tom Petty came on the radio and began to wail, in a way that only Tom can, how "waiting is the hardest part." That's exactly how I feel today. I can't wait for opening night following the press conference yesterday announcing Paul Fixter as the 20th head coach in Bears history. The Bears also announced yesterday that former HERSHEY defenseman Paul Jerrard would serve with Fixter as assistant coach. I really felt as I left the media gathering, which was held in the club lounge at GIANT Center Tuesday, that the season can't get here soon enough. Fixter and Jerrard are great guys, but equally as important for two men that just earned promotions, they're winners. Fixter two Stanley Cups on the staff in Colorado. Jerrard a Calder Cup as a Bear in 1997. They know the taste of victory, and now they will have a chance to impart that on their players.

It's a meteoric rise to the top for Fixter after eight years in the Colorado organization. . At his press conference Tuesday, there was the ever present smile that greets everyone that "Fixy" comes in contact with. On this day, however, the smile was brighter and bigger than ever before as he stepped to the podium to accept the head coaching position of the AHL's most prestigious franchise. What you see is what you get from Paul Fixter. A guy with a tremendous sense of humor, a healthy and well rounded attitude toward hockey and life in general, and a gift for communication both in and out of the dressing room. When he says at the press conference "I'm very firm, but I'm a lot of fun, and very fair," believe every word of it, because that's what Paul is all about. I've known Paul for a season and part of a summer now, and I am constantly impressed how he conducts himself. No matter who he meets through the course of the day, he has a gift of making people feel important. He made sure once the press conference was over, on the day of his most proud moment in his professional career, that he thanked everyone personally who was involved in putting the press conference together. Not just the PR staff and Bears personnel, I'm talking about the folks who made the stuffed shells served for lunch after the conference ended. I'm talking about the GIANT Center staff that put the tables up and broke them down. Everyone. Of all the classy people you run across in hockey, you won't find a classier move than that. That's the guy I want to see running my favorite team. Opening night is special every season, but this year, I will be proudest of the guy from Kitchener, Ontario, the boss behind the bench who earned his way into the captain's chair.

I met Paul Jerrard a couple of hours before the press conference Tuesday, but I had a pretty good scoop on the former Bears d-man before he came to the rink that day. The universal reaction of those people who knew Jerrard from his days in Chocolatetown all said what a class indivudual he was, what an effective communicator he was, how well liked he was. All became evident to me quickly after we were introduced. Jerrard will be a great addition to an already great locker room atmosphere. It's a great promotion for him, and coupled with a return to the place where he enjoyed his greatest triumph as a player, it's especially sweet for him.

Now, as we rejoin our regularly scheduled summer already in progress, attention will shift again toward signing of players and potential free agents. You know that by Opening Night, Bears President/General Manager Doug Yingst in conjunction with Colorado and now Tampa Bay will have a roster ready to do battle. Regardless of what the roster holds, a lot of attention will be paid to two guys standing behind the players who have already had off seasons they will never forget. What a fun year awaits us all come October.

Excuse me, I think I hear Tom Petty calling my name.

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American Hockey League Stories from July 2, 2003


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