From former player to former coach, Vern Fiddler won’t be returning to the Kelowna Rockets’ bench as an assistant coach next season.
The former NHLer announced that he’s stepping down to spend more time with his family.
“It was a tough decision,” Fiddler told Global News. “Over the pandemic, I just realized that I didn’t want to miss my kids growing up.”
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“With my kids being 13 and 11, I don’t want to miss that. So it was a tough decision, but my family comes first.”
Fiddler’s decision to call it a career with the Rockets didn’t come as a surprise to the man who hired him.
“I knew. He came and saw me quite a while ago and said he was looking at this,” said Rockets president and general manager Bruce Hamilton.
Kelowna’s GM thinks the pandemic took a bit of a toll on Fiddler, causing him to reassess his priorities.
“He’s a pretty vibrant guy, but I saw him falling into a bit of a hole,” Hamilton explained.
“Their family just decided it was what they wanted. And you know, when you’ve played and done what he has done, he can probably do what he wants to do.”
For Fiddler though, despite his long hockey career, once a Rocket, always a Rocket.
“Bruce gave me an opportunity to come here as a young kid at 16 or 17 years old to take the junior career on,” said Fiddler, “and it will always have a special place in my heart.”