Vancouver Giants hire Michael Dyck as new Head Coach

The Vancouver Giants held a media conference Thursday to introduce new Head Coach Michael Dyck.

“I am very honored to once again to join the Vancouver Giants organization,” said Michael Dyck in a team release. “The Giants have always been a model franchise in the Western Hockey League and I am very excited to contribute to that legacy and lead this exciting group of players.”

Dyck was introduced by new Giants General Manager Barclay Parneta, who assumed the role with the team last month. With one of his first moves with the team, Parneta relived Jason McKee of his coaching duties after he led the team for the past two seasons. It was a move that was surprising to some, after the Giants under McKee’s direction returned to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons and then pushed the Victoria Royals to a tightly-contested seven game series. However, it is also not uncommon for a new GM to look to bring in hand-picked people and often both changes go hand-in-hand. Per team release, Parneta added  “Michael Dyck is the right man to lead us into this exciting chapter of Vancouver Giants hockey. His past success speaks for itself and when you combine his passion, work-ethic, and his ability to motivate and mentor today’s young hockey player. He checks all of those boxes for us.”

Having previously served as an assistant coach with Vancouver from 2002 to 2005, Dyck also scouted for the G-Men in 2009 for three seasons and then had the position of Director of Player Development with the Giants from 2010 to 2012. In between these tenures with Vancouver, he was the head coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes for four seasons (2006-2009), leading his team to a 132-120-16 record over that time and a berth in the 2008 WHL finals.

Dyck’s coaching resume also includes time as an assistant coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers as well as interim coach for the Kootenay Ice. Internationally, he has coached Team Canada Pacific twice (2009-10 and 2011-12) at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge,  as well as coaching Alberta in the 2015 Canada Winter Games.

Hailing from Lethbridge Alberta, the 49-year-old Dyck has had recent success coaching in his hometown, as he guided the Lethbridge Hurricanes Midget AAA program to a league championship and a berth in the 2018 Telus Cup. He has also led the Lethbridge Hurricanes Minor Midget program and the Lethbridge Golden Hawks Bantam AAA team to recent league championships. A notable player on that Golden Hawks Bantam AAA team was talented Giants defenseman Bowen Byram, and that familiarity can only be a plus for the young player’s development.