The Humboldt Broncos have named a new interim assistant coach.
The club announced Wednesday that Troy Smith will be behind the bench for the remainder of the year with interim head coach Scott Barney.
Smith said he is thankful for the opportunity.
“I am excited and energized to get to know our players and join the Humboldt community,” Smith said in a release from the team.
“We have a lot of work to be done in a short amount of time and am really looking forward to an exciting second half.”
Smith has several years of coaching experience.
He was most recently the head coach of the Saginaw Spirit in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).
Prior to that, he was the associate coach and assistant general manager of the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs from 2015-17 and spent nine years with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers – two as head coach and seven as assistant coach.
He also has international experience, having represented Canada seven times – five times with the U17 team and twice with the U18 team.
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Barney, who was the assistant coach of the team, was named the team’s interim head coach after Nathan Oystrick stepped down as head coach and general manager on Dec. 28.
Oystrick took over the team in July 2018 after 16 players and staff members, including head coach Darcy Haugan, were killed in a crash on April 6 between the team’s bus and a semi.