The Prince George Spruce Kings are headhunting.
They’re looking to fill their associate coach vacancy after Andrew Shaw left the team early this month.
The Kings hired the 32-year-old Chilliwack native in August after three years in the B.C. Hockey League with the Chilliwack Chiefs. He served as the Chiefs’ video coach from 2019-21 and last season was the team’s assistant coach.
“He lasted five weeks, it just didn’t work out and we mutually agreed to part ways,” said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes. “He decided it was best for personal reasons. It wasn’t a good fit and now we’re looking again.
“We’re in the middle of doing some due diligence on a couple of people that we’ve shortlisted down to again, just going through the process. It’s a tough time of year to hire any coach, as most guys are working so it’s taking a bit of time here to filter through some names. It’s got to be good fit and we’ve got try to find the right guy, so we’re being patient and also trying to expedite the process.”
Shaw replaced Lucas Lomicky, who moved to Okanagan last spring and is now the assistant coach of the Vernon Vipers.
Jason Garneau, in his fourth season since rejoining the Kings as an assistant coach in 2019, has had his duties intensified with Shaw’s departure. Garneau works full time for a local paving company but Hawes said he’s made himself available for away games, if needed, until a new associate coach is hired.
The Kings have enlisted the help of former Vancouver Canucks assistant Terry Bangen of Kamloops and Kolin Kriitmaa, the team’s mental performance coach, to fill in the past two weeks as guest coaches to help out with head coach Alex Evin on roadtrips.
An associate coach helps the head coach run practices and teach systems to the players and is also tasked with running special teams during games. The position also requires breaking down video of games for teaching purposes, making travel arrangements prior to and during roadtrips and player recruitment.
The Spruce Kings host the Wenatchee Wild in a two-games series Friday and Saturday at Kopar Memorial Arena. Both games start at 7 p.m.
The Wild (2-7-0-1-0) currently rank last in the nine -team Interior Conference and are hoping to end a three-game losing streak.
The Spruce Kings (7-3-0-1-0, fourth in Interior) are coming off their biggest win of the season Saturday in Vernon where they pasted the Vipers 8-0. Jordan Fairlie made 24 saves for his first shutout of the season. John Herrington notched his first career BCHL hat trick in that game. The 20-year-old centre from Hudson’s Hope leads the Spruce Kings in scoring with eight goals and 11 points in 11 games.
Friday’s game will mark the BCHL debut of winger Scott Cousins, an 18-year-old Prince George native released to the Spruce Kings from the WHL Kelowna Rockets on Oct. 17. The transaction was completed just as Hawes was leaving for the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack and Cousins did not play in any of the three Kings’ road games last week.
“I just told Scott that we wanted to get him into a few practices with the team before we throw him into the fire to learn our structure and the way we play,” said Hawes. “It was my decision with Scott for him to head to Prince George and wait for the team to get home and then he’d practice for the week before he got into some games.”
Cousins played for U-17 Cariboo Cougars and led the team wit 28 goals and 57 points as their captain in 2019-20. He played just three games for the Rockets, after collecting three goals and eight points in 36 games last year in his second WHL season.
“He’s such a great person , he’s really hardworking and he fits into the mold of what a Spruce Kings player is,” said Hawes. “On the ice he’s got a real good skillset and he skates well and we saw that when he led the Cariboo Cougars in scoring. He’s a team-first guy and he’s going to fit in well with the culture we have with the Spruce Kings.”
The Kings have placed defenceman Tait Ross on the 30-day injured reserve list. Ross hurt his shoulder in a game in Vernon Oct. 14. The 18-year-old Dartmouth College recruit, was the future consideration acquired in a deal last season that sent defenceman Brody Gagno to the Surrey Eagles. Ross, a veteran of two BCHL seasons with the Eagles, has been limited by injuries to just three games this season for the Spruce Kings.
