Assistant coach Jim Midgley has been named the new head coach of the Halifax Mooseheads.
Midgley takes the spot previously filled by André Tourigny who resigned last Tuesday to join the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s. Tourigny signed a five-year contract as the Mooseheads head coach on May 2, 2016.
The new head coach originally joined the Mooseheads in 2011 and was part of the team when they captured the Memorial Cup in the 2012-13 season.
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“This is a great honour and obviously a very exciting time for me to take this franchise over and it’s been a crazy 24 hours learning that I was going to take this team over,” Midgley said during a press conference held on Facebook Live on Tuesday.
“So it’s very exciting and I can’t wait to take it over here in August.”
Midgley said he found out around 4:30 Monday in a meeting with general manager Cam Russell and president Bobby Smith. He added he and Smith met on Sunday for a few hours and “banged some ideas off each other” and Midgley laid the groundwork how he would operate the team this summer.
He then was brought in Monday afternoon to come to a deal.
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Before he joined the Mooseheads, he was director of hockey operations for the Rothesay Netherwood Prep School in New Brunswick and head coach for Team New Brunswick at the 2011 Canada Games. He also was assistant coach for the Saint John Sea Dogs from 2007 to 2009, as well as at Acadia University from 2003 to 2007.
Citing his time working with past coaches of the Mooseheads and other coaches he’s worked next to, Midgley said he’d bring what he learned from them as well as his own spin to the team.
“We’re going to be an up-tempo team,” Midgley said.
Midgley is the 10th head coach for the Mooseheads.
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