Long-time head coach of the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL) Tim Hunter has been let go by the team.
The news was announced on Monday.
“He’s a good man, he’s a good coach, he’s a good hockey guy, but at this time we just feel it’s time to turn the page and turn our team over and look at a new direction,” said Allan Millar, Moose Jaw Warriors general manager.
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“Tim deserves a lot of credit. I think he definitely heightened our program in terms of his experience with Hockey Canada and the World Junior Championships.”
Hunter joined the team in 2014 and coached 356 games. He finished with a record of 189-134-25-8 for first all-time in wins among Warrior coaches. He also led the Warriors to the playoffs from 2016-2019.
“We had our best regular season in our history with 52 wins with him at the helm,” Millar said.
“Tim was in the final year of his contract and over the course of the last couple of weeks…I came to the decision that I was not going to renew Tim in the summer.”
Hunter was Canada’s head coach at the IIHF Junior Hockey Championships in 2019 after serving as an assistant coach at the event in 2017 and 2018.
Replacing Hunter is Mark O’Leary. O’Leary was first hired as an assistant coach in 2013 and was promoted to associate coach for the 2018-19 season.
“I feel it’s his time, I feel like he will bring a calm, patient approach to our team.”
It’s a role O’Leary is ready for and one he said has a lot do with his time spent learning from Hunter.
“Tim has been a big part of why I’m in the position I’m in today. I can’t thank him enough for what he’s done for me in terms of challenging me to be a better coach,” O’Leary said.
“I’m certainly really excited for the opportunity here. I really do love our group. I know we are young, but there are a lot of things to be excited about moving forward and I really can’t wait to get started.”
The Warriors are 11-22-2-0 on the season.
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