Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
It’s August. The weather is steamy. Last season has become a memory, but the upcoming season is still more than two months away.
Surely then, it must be time to sit back and relax, right?
Not in Belleville, where the parent Ottawa Senators have barely slowed down since their offseason began in April. Steve Staios is taking on his first offseason as general manager, and since the start of free agency July 1, the moves to improve the organization have come one after another.
Jan Jenik and Xavier Bourgault arrived via trades from Utah and Edmonton, respectively. Jenik, who has seen time in the NHL in each of the last four seasons, is still just 23. Bourgault is 21, a first-round pick by the Oilers in 2021. Adam Gaudette, who played 50 games for Ottawa in 2021-22, is returning to the organization; his 44 goals with Springfield last season led the AHL and brought him a spot on the league’s First All-Star Team.
But a key move was extending Belleville head coach David Bell for two more years. Bell, who took over the B-Sens midway through the 2022-23 season, guided the club back into the Calder Cup Playoffs in 2024 and earned the franchise’s first-ever series victory as they ousted the rival Toronto Marlies in the first round.
With all of the changes coming to the organization, Bell admits that getting his own situation settled before his existing contract expired was a relief.
“It was big,” he acknowledged. “It’s not very fun, as every coach knows, ticking down the days ’til you have no paychecks.”
It was a well-earned extension, too. Bell was a hard-nosed player during his own playing days, and his Senators have taken on some of that persona. They fought down the stretch for a playoff berth, finally clinching with an emotion-laden home win against Laval on April 19. Then came a hard battle against the Marlies before they pushed Cleveland in a division semifinal series. Four of Belleville’s seven playoff games were decided in overtime, including the series-clinching win over Toronto.
“I thought we had a really good season,” said Bell, who is always measured in his words. “I don’t think it was great, but it was good. We made some strides. I don’t want to use the word ‘accomplishment,’ but I would say ‘steps in the right direction.’”
The ups and downs of contract time for players are well known. Less so for coaches, though. With a family at home, Bell faced decisions that impacted more than him.
“It was really tough,” Bell said, “but everything worked out. My kids are happy here. We love Belleville. We’re pretty entrenched in it socially, and the kids in sports and stuff, so it was a good day when that got done.”
Navigating the business side of the game is an area of learning for an AHL head coach, one that complements the many on-ice lessons that the game brings. Coaching in the NHL is about wins and losses; an AHL coach has to worry about winning also, but player development is a massive priority. While winning and losing is clear-cut, the stop-and-start nature of player development can be more murky. When is it best to put a prospect outside of his comfort zone? When is it best to protect a young player a bit until there is a bit more experience to act as a buffer?
Bell likes to ease his prospects in. Perhaps take a defensive-zone draw in the first period before trying to close out a win in the final 30 seconds of regulation. Push a player but protect his confidence. Put them in a position to succeed.
“Let them try,” Bell explained. “Hopefully they win that moment in a not-so-crucial time, so they can draw from that. Whether it be a playoff game or last minute of a game, [now] they’ve been in that situation, maybe the lights just weren’t as bright.”
The summer offers time to slow down and reflect, to think about those countless decisions that a 72-game regular season has brought. He took in the Calder Cup Playoffs as well as the Stanley Cup Playoffs. There are trends to pick up and analyze. There is video to watch. Maybe something or some edge can be found. Bell will have a new staff to prepare to work with also, as Ottawa brought on Stefan Legein and long-time AHL defenseman Andrew Campbell as assistant coaches.
And there is taking care of oneself as well if you’re a coach. All season long coaches look out for player needs and put in endless hours at the office. The hockey calendar never really ends; it simply slows down slightly in the summer. Ottawa held development camp in July. Come September the organization will field a team at the 2024 Prospects Challenge hosted by the Buffalo Sabres.
“Try to get away from the game and reset the brain,” Bell said. “I think fresh eyes, fresh brain, fresh body… you’re going to be better when the puck drops in September if you’re rejuvenated and excited.”
TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports, and was most recently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
