Is Ryan Huska the Man? Let's Ask the GM!

The Kelowna Rockets will make a head coaching announcement in the first week of July.
General Manager Bruce Hamilton and I sat down to chat today about the process of finding a new coach to replace Jeff Truitt.

Bruce, after so much success in hiring coaches in Marc Habscheid and Jeff Truitt, now with a vacancy, do you feel pressure to hire a solid candidate?

"Their is always the thought that we need to make a drastic change because of what happened last season. I don't think we need to gut it...that's not the plan. The culture side of our operation is pretty solid, and it's water under the bridge on what happened last season. Who coaches them will have to understand that teaching needs to go on, and the expectations in this community is for this team to win."

Are you inclined to hire a coach with a long track record, or what type of coach are you looking for?

"If Don Hay wanted to move here and wasn't under contract, I'd be interested. If Todd Mclellan (assistant coach in the NHL with Detroit) wanted to come here, we'd love to have him. I think that anyone who coaches at this level has to be a good teacher. Your dealing with young men, and if their is one thing about this league, it's repetition-repetition to get these guys to the next level".

Do you want a players coach, or someone who is more of a motivator, and isn't scared to call out a player?

"The head coach has to be the disciplinarian here, and the assistant coach has to be the guy they (players) deal with alot of time. When Marc (Habscheid) was here, that's the way it ran, and Jeff did a good job of that. When Jeff moved into the head coaching role, he communicating with the players that way while Ryan Huska was probably a little harder on them than they thought it should be."

Rockets fans will say assistant Ryan Huska should be a slam dunk to get the head coaching job. Is Huska a slam dunk?

"I like him. We've invested alot in him by having Ryan here for a number of years. Having him work under Marc Habscheid and then Jeff Truitt has been great. I am not as worried if he is the guy, but I would be making a mistake if I didn't go through the process to see who's interested in coaching here. Like I've told everyone who's applied, don't apply for the job to live in Kelowna, apply for the job to coach this team to win because that's the expectation that comes with playing in this city".