They're just 15 games into the regular season, but there's already turmoil for the Fort St. John Tracker Flyers.

After starting the season 7-0, the Northeast B.C. and Yukon district's AAA midget team went 1-5-2 in their next eight, with the last loss coming against the lowly Peace River Royals. And following the loss, head coach Scott Longstaff decided to step down, in just his second season behind the bench.

Longstaff officially resigned his position at the Tracker's governors meeting on Tuesday night.

In a news release issued this week, Flyers General Manager Ed Pimm said the organization wished to thank Longstaff, 'for his dedication to the team and for his effort over the season.'

'Not only was Longstaff 100 per cent committed and highly competitive, he made many personal sacrifices for the team and his enthusiasm will be missed,' read the release.

There have been rumours of an incident on the team bus, involving the coach and his players, after the Peace River game. But Longstaff would only say his decision was due, in part, to his feeling that he was not achieving what he considered to be a maximum effort from his players.

Team captain Adam Henderson, one of four Yukoners playing on the squad this year, called Longstaff 'an intense man' and 'a perfectionist.'

'I guess you could say he liked to win and he didn't like to lose,' said Henderson, in an interview from Fort St. John Thursday. 'I thought he was a great coach, one of the best I've ever had, but some of the players, they weren't all accepting of his ways.'

When Longstaff began his duties as head coach last season, he made no secret of the fact his goal was to win the Air Canada Cup. It was something he reiterated at the start of this season.

'To win nationals, plain and simple,' he said of his goal, in an interview last month. 'It will take a lot of things in order to get there. But most of all, the team needs to believe in each other and the coaching staff.'

Perhaps that goal was a little too lofty, said former assistant coach Scott Emslie, who will now be replacing Longstaff as the man at the helm. Emslie brings several years of bantam and AAA coaching experience to the table, and has also assisted with the B.C. Best Ever Program.

'I don't feel the team has left the tracks, actually,' said Emslie. 'Coach Longstaff had pretty high expectations, and while we will also have expectations, I truly believe in focusing on minor goals throughout the season.'

Even though they only have two wins in their last eight games, Emslie said there were some positive things to come out of the stretch and he would like the players to start focusing on that.

'I don't think there's been enough focus on the positives for this team. They are still kids. We certainly want to move them to the next level, but the reality is, even though we can expect or want all 19 kids to play 60 minutes every game, at this age and this level, it's a pretty high expectation.'

Henderson admitted the Flyers' performance has been somewhat lacking as of late, saying their heads just weren't in the game against the Royals. But he also believes the team can turn things around.

The Flyers held a team-building session Thursday evening and also met several times behind closed doors following Longstaff's resignation, said Henderson.

'At first, the team was pretty bummed (when Longstaff resigned), but the coach we have now is a great guy and he'll do a good job. Everybody's trying to look at this positively right now. We're hoping to move on and turn it around. There's still a lot of season left.'

Emslie said the systems the Flyers have been using all season basically demand hard work, and while that won't be much different with him behind the bench, he does plan to change some things. It's one thing to tell the players they have to work hard, he said, but they have to see that and experience the difference it makes.

It's their job as coaches, he said, to make the players realize the little things pay off. And it's also important to have faith in your team.

'We've got a good bunch of boys out there. And I feel very fortunate, being able to coach them for the rest of the season.'

The Flyers can talk all they want about turning things around, but they need to prove it on the ice, and they'll get their first chance to do that when Emslie makes his coaching debut tonight. The Flyers will face off against the Royals once again, this time in Fort St. John.

'I guess we'll find out (what effect the coaching change will have),' said Henderson. 'A bit of a change of scenery, I think, will be good for everybody.'