In the summer of 2017, there was a lot of upheaval in the hockey world. The
arrival of the Vegas Golden Knights, combined with a few disappointing
performances among the other 30 National Hockey League clubs, led to a lot of
turnover in coaching staffs and new faces being pulled in from other areas of
hockey.The Calgary Hitmen are one of eight clubs with new head coaches heading
into the 2018-19 season. (Candice Ward/Calgary Hitmen)

The turnover in the NHL during 2017 led to several new faces in the Western
Hockey League';s head coaching ranks. But that upheaval spilled over into the
2018 off-season, with additional coaching turnover in the NHL leading to an
even more coaching changes in the WHL than were seen a year ago.A Summer of
Tweaks

Six WHL clubs changed head coaches during the summer of 2017: the Calgary
Hitmen, Everett Silvertips, Kootenay ICE, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs
and Victoria Royals.

Hitmen head coach Mark French opted to return to Europe, taking a position with
 the Swiss League';s HC Fribourg-Gotteron. He was replaced by University of
Alaska-Anchorage head coach Dallas Ferguson.The Silvertips'; Kevin Constantine
was not retained, eventually ending up with the Asian League';s Daemyung Killer
 Whales. He was replaced by Dennis Williams, formerly USHL Bloomington Thunder
head coach.Kootenay';s Luke Pierce moved on, ending up as part of Canada';s
World Under-17 coaching staff. He was replaced by James Patrick, formerly a
Dallas Stars assistant.Seattle';s Steve Konowalchuk was hired away by the
Anaheim Ducks after leading his club to a WHL Championship. The Thunderbirds
promoted assistant coach Matt O';Dette to fill the void.The Chiefs parted ways
with longtime coach Don Nachbaur, who ended up taking a job with the Los
Angeles Kings. He was replaced by former Rochester Americans head coach Dan
Lambert.Victoria head coach Dave Lowry joined Nachbaur with the Kings, so the
Royals promoted assistant Dan Price to his old job.

The arrival of the Golden Knights to the NHL didn';t directly lead to these
coaching changes, but their establishment started a ripple effect that
dislodged a few coaches and created opportunities for several new faces.Three
Waves of Coaching Changes

The 2018 coaching changes came in three primary waves, with eight total
coaching changes - including a second change in as many years for the Hitmen.
On March 18, the Saskatoon Blades relieved Dean Brockman of his duties. After a
 fairly lengthy search, they hired Everett assistant Mitch Love on May 30.

The second wave began five weeks later: Kamloops Blazers head coach (and junior
 hockey legend) Don Hay retired from coaching on May 10, with the University of
 Alberta';s Serge Lajoie being hired as his successor on June 23. Swift Current
 Broncos head coach Manny Viveiros barely had time to celebrate his team';s
championship before he was hired as an Edmonton Oilers assistant, with Brockman
 ending three months of unemployment when he was hired as his replacement on
June 27. The Edmonton Oil Kings parted ways with Steve Hamilton on May 28,
replacing him with former Tampa Bay Lightning assistant coach Brad Lauer on
June 27.

The third wave began in mid-June, as the Vancouver Giants parted ways with
Jason McKee after two seasons on June 15 and replaced him with Lethbridge
Hurricanes midget head Mike Dyck on June 28. Mike Williamson left the Tri-City
Americans on June 25 to pursue other opportunities, with the Americans hiring
longtime NHLer and outgoing New York Islanders assistant coach Kelly Buchberger
 on July 16.

Citing family reasons, Hitmen head coach Dallas Ferguson resigned on June 26 -
taking a position as assistant coach at the University of Denver a week later -
 and the Hitmen lured Hamilton south from Edmonton on July 17, ending two
months of unemployment for him. Finally, Regina Pats head coach and general
manager John Paddock opted to relieve himself of coaching duties, promoting
assistant David Struch to the top job on June 28.

The @WHLHitmen have introduced Steve Hamilton as their 10th head coach in
franchise history! 

DETAILS 📰 | https://t.co/Neepyq1mfl pic.twitter.com/xaKJO4IrEa

- The WHL (@TheWHL) July 17, 2018

The off-season changes were atypical in terms of their large volume, but
otherwise typical in terms of how things unfolded: a few coaches were cut loose
 for under-performing, a few left for NHL or AHL jobs, and a few shuffled
between WHL teams.Trends and Topics

The longest-tenured head coach remaining in the WHL is Medicine Hat Tigers
bench boss Shawn Clouston, who';s been on the job since 2010-11. He';s followed
 closely by Red Deer';s Brent Sutter, Moose Jaw';s Tim Hunter and Prince
Albert';s Marc Habscheid in terms of longevity.

Viveiros'; hiring by the Oilers continues a well-established trend of
championship coaches immediately leaving the WHL. Every coach that';s led a
team to an Ed Chynoweth Cup dating back to 2013 left for a professional gig
that off-season, a span of six consecutive seasons.

The post WHL Coaching Carosel Revs Up appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

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