Brooks formally introduced as Bees coach

HIDALGO - If not for Brendan Kenny, there's a good chance Chris Brooks would have been introduced as the Killer Bees head coach two years ago instead of Monday.

Kenny resigned from his job as an assistant coach at Western Michigan in August of 2006, leaving the Broncos' staff shorthanded and prompting Brooks to turn down the chance to replace Tony Martino.

"One of Chris' best qualities, no question in my mind, is that loyalty," WMU head coach Jim Culhane said. "Chris is a friend more importantly than an associate and fellow coach. I think that relationship was there beforehand, and always will be afterward."

Two years later, however, Brooks and the Bees finally got the timing right, with the nine-year WMU assistant agreeing to a three-year deal to replace Paul Fixter and leave his alma mater.

"I've been in contact with him the last two years, because I know him on a personal level, and always touching base. I always had his number," said Bees general manager Grant Buckborough, who worked as an account executive in Amarillo while Brooks was a player there. "When Paul resigned, he was one of the first guys we called."

Both Buckborough and owner Troy Nelson cited Brooks' recruiting abilities as one of the reasons he was hired. Between 2002 to 2008 as an assistant then associate head coach, Brooks helped lure eight eventual NHL draft picks to Kalamazoo. That experience, combined with a playing career that included a WPHL MVP award in 1997, might provide the Bees connections around college and minor league hockey.

Brooks, though, said his new home presents other recruiting advantages.

"There's a lot of things to sell down here," Brooks said. "You've got tons of fans. A great ownership group that's committed to winning. They take care of their players, great housing. An hour from South Padre. The Gulf. There's tons of stuff that goes into it. It's all here. A lot of perks."

One other advantage Brooks will have is a name familiar to the Bees and the CHL. Despite getting passed over for the job that eventually went to Brooks, Sean Gillam will return for his third year as an assistant coach. Like with Fixter in 2006, Gillam will be working with a coach that has never worked in the CHL

Brooks will also partially benefit from the recruiting efforts of Fixter and Gillam, with team officials saying more signings will be announced soon.

"We're in a good spot, but there's a lot of work to be done," Gillam said. "We were both hitting the phones together, working hard. We're going to put together a good team and we'll be competitive out there and working hard."

Brian Sandalow covers the Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4436.