Former Kelowna Rockets coach Ryan Huska.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kelowna Rockets
June 12, 2023 - 11:15 AM
Ryan Huska, who coached the Kelowna Rockets from 2002 to 2007, will be replacing Darryl Sutter as head coach of the Calgary Flames.
The 47-year-old from Trail was the first former Rockets coach to become a head coach at the NHL level, according to a release from the Rockets issued today, June 12.
He's been one of the Flames’ assistant coaches since 2018.
"I am as proud as I have been of any former player or any employee of our organization," Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton said in the release. "We're so proud of him and thrilled that he has received this opportunity. He brought so much to our organization, he's loyal, understanding and competitive; traits that he passed onto the coaches that worked below him. This is the greatest thing that could happen to him and his family, we know he's going to do a great job with the Flames."
During his 12 seasons coaching the Rockets, Huska was an assistant from 2002 to 2007 and then served the rest of his tenure as head coach. He was part of Kelowna’s Memorial Cup win in 2004, and WHL titles in 2003, 2005 and 2009. He won three Memorial Cups with the Kamloops Blazers (1992, 1994, 1995) as a player.
Calgary has changed head coaches five times in eight years. The hiring of Huska is new general manager Craig Conroy's first major move.
Among Huska's priorities in 2023-24 will be getting more out of Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau.
The Flames signed Kadri as a free agent and Huberdeau arrived in a blockbuster trade with the Florida Panthers last summer that saw Matthew Tkachuk go the other way.
Neither Kadri nor Huberdeau, signed by Calgary for a combined 15 years and US$133 million, meshed well with Sutter, and their production was well below their career highs.
"I completely lost my swagger this year," Huberdeau said at the end of the season.
Huska was an assistant coach for Canada's entries at the world junior hockey championship in both 2011 and 2012.
The Blackhawks drafted Huska in the third round (76th overall) in 1993. The centre played five seasons of minor pro and appeared in one NHL game for Chicago.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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