"We took Heatherington and we weren't playing him, we took McKenna and we weren't playing him, we took McKenzie and we didn't play him that much," Janko said. "That's hard, but you have to fill in the gaps with some of these college guys and free agents and ECHL guys. If you don't have depth in the AHL, you won't have success, so it takes a lot of work."
In fact, more new work every year.
While a home makeover can last some time, the AHL makeover has to be redone and redone. The 2010 team was coached by Glen Gulutzan and led by Jamie Benn, a veteran AHL defense, and the goalie duo of Brent Krahn and Matt Climie. The 2014 team was coached by Willie Desjardins and led by Travis Morin, Patrik Nemeth and goaltender Cristopher Nilstorp. This year's team is coached by Derek Laxdal and led by McKenzie, Justin Dowling and McKenna.
Not only does White have to find the talented coaches (both Gulutzan and Desjardins moved on to become head coaches in the NHL) and players, he has to make it all work. During the playoff runs, White has had to be able to juggle the balance between veterans and prospects and keep everything moving in the right direction.
"You have to have the balance, and that's what we're always looking for," he said. "You are there to develop players, but winning hockey games is a huge part of development."