When general manager Todd Harkins went headhunting to find a new head coach for the Prince George Cougars, Richard Matvichuk was at the top of his list.
Even before the ECHL season ended for Matvichuk's Missouri Mavericks, Harkins was on the phone asking if he was interested in the job and he wasn't alone.
The ECHL's coach of the year and top executive was in high demand from other teams, pro and junior, having led the Mavericks to a 52-win season. But Harkins flew down to Kansas City and after a three-hour meeting with Matvichuk the deal was done and the former NHL defenceman started making plans for the move to Prince George.
Matvichuk signed a three-year contract. Considering his success as a minor pro hockey coach, Cougars president Greg Pocock says Matvichuk ticks all the boxes as to what the team was looking for to guide the team.
"I don't think we could have found a guy who springboards this organization to the next level as quickly as Richard will, he'll do everything in his power to help excel the careers of our kids and our franchise and I just couldn't be happier," Pocock said.
"The biggest thing is he brings credibility in the hockey world, which is huge. He brings currency in that he's not far removed as a player from the age group of the players we have who play for us, and he's played in the Western Hockey League. He can call anybody in the NHL in any office and assist our organization in whatever our objectives are. It just leapfrogs us probably four or five years ahead in our business plan."
"One of the things that immediately endeared us to him was his commitment right out of the gate when he said his wife (Tracy) is right on board with it," he added. "His kids are so excited about coming to Canada and playing hockey in Canada and about snow, and that's very cool."
Harkins spoke to about 80 individuals about the job, including one minor hockey coach. Harkins was impressed that as soon as Matvichuk knew the team was after him he started doing his homework on the WHL, the Cougars organization and the players, while still coaching the Mavericks.
"He said he was very interested right from the start," said Harkins. "He was so excited about this opportunity, the day (the Mavericks) were knocked out he called me and said he was ready to go.
"One of the things I really liked about Richard is he's able to lean on a lot of people in the game and I think that's going to help him as a coach and as a teacher as he moves forward."
Harkins played against Matvichuk in the IHL in the early 1990s when they were both climbing the pro ranks and no introduction was needed when the Cats GM made the initial call.
"I was a power forward trying to get the puck off the corners to the net and he was always the big defenceman - he was very hard to play against and he played the game the right way," said Harkins. "He's got great playing credentials, which he relates back to his coaching, and he doesn't talk about himself as a player. He's a teacher first and foremost and as a coach at our level he's teaching kids who are aspiring to be like him one day and that's instrumental in having success with the kids we already have."
Pocock was asked if the hands-on approach of the Cougars' ownership group, which took over the team in May 2014, caused friction with the coaching staff which ultimately led to the team's decision not to rehire Mark Holick after 3 1/2 seasons as Cougars head coach and whether a different philosophy would be employed by the owners now that Matvichuk has been hired.
"One thing about all the people in the organization, from the ownership down, is that we're all passionate and that we're committed and we're doing as much as we can to try to make this thing a success," said Pocock. "There were times with Mark where maybe some boundaries got crossed, but at the end of the day it was all done for the right reasons.
"Richard will have different boundaries, we've already talked about some of them. That's his team, that's his dressing room, and that will be respected."
