Music: {allcanada} WARD DISAPPOINTED, BUT STILL EXCITED

Friday, June 1, 2012

{allcanada} WARD DISAPPOINTED, BUT STILL EXCITED

Troy Ward wouldn't mask his disappointment.

Nor, the Calgary Sun believes, should he have.

As a finalist for the Calgary Flames head coaching job, the AHL Abbotsford Heat bench boss faced the news of being edged out of the job by Bob Hartley.

"At this particular level, we get paid for wins and losses, and sometimes those are personal wins and losses. Today was a loss," Ward said Thursday from his off-season Wisconsin home.

"I try to wake up every day and go 1-0, but today was 0-1."

But it's not like Ward had a hard landing. He's slated to return to the Heat for a second season and will do so with the motivation Flames GM Jay Feaster seriously considered him for the job.

"It's also rewarding when the boss says good things about you and feels you're going in the right direction," Ward said.

"I felt I could do the job Bob's going to be given the opportunity to do. At the same time, you look to grab other branches on the tree and wonder what it can give you. It's a chance to grow again — a chance to learn from somebody else.

"When I heard it was Bob,

I was pretty excited. I know Bob enough as a coach because I'm in the business, and he's been really successful — and successful at a level I'm at right now.

"More importantly, he's won a Stanley Cup. We have a general manager who's won a Cup.

"We have an assistant general manager (John Weisbrod) who's won a Cup, and now we've got a coach who's won a Cup. That means good days ahead, and it's a good opportunity for me and my staff to learn."