It was announced today that Calgary Hitmen Head Coach Dallas Ferguson resigned due to family reasons.
Ferguson was named the ninth head coach in Hitmen history at a press conference July 11, 2017 at McMahon Stadium last summer.
Ferguson was previously with the University of Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks hockey program for 13 seasons. As a head coach with the Nanooks for nine years, he went 127-126-38.
The Wainwright, Alta. product took over for Mark French, who left the Hitmen following the 2016-17 season to take a head coaching job with the Fribourg-Gotteron Dragons of Switzerland’s National League A.
In Ferguson’s one year with the club, the Hitmen finished with the third-worst record in the Western Hockey League at 24-37-9-2. He became the fourth head coach to only last one year at the Scotiabank Saddledome, joining the likes of Dave Lowry (2008-09), Graham James (1995-96) and Jim Currie (1996-97).
After a couple key injuries early in the season, the Hitmen shifted into rebuilding mode and dealt away three important players in Beck Malenstyn, Matteo Gennaro and Jake Bean. All three players were given letters of captaincy to start the season.
Ferguson was working with a young group in his first year in the league, so his record through one season isn’t that impressive. His 24 wins and 0.333 winning percentage rank third worst in franchise history.
Despite the poor performance on the ice, the Hitmen management group loved the work he did this season and there were full intentions of bringing him back next year.
“We were very pleased with (Dallas) this year. This year was a big adjustment for him; it was no different from a new player coming into the league. There’s new players he was trying to deal with, lots of travel, 72 games is a big adjustment and we thought Dallas and his staff did a great job,” said Hitmen GM Jeff Chynoweth in an exit interview last year.
The move from Alaska to Calgary was a big one. Ferguson lived all season in Calgary, while his wife and two daughters continued to live in Alaska. According to Ferguson, the plan was for him to live in Calgary for the first year, with the rest of his family making the trip down for the second year.
In the release sent out by the Hitmen earlier this afternoon, Chynoweth noted that his family was the reason behind his resignation.
“Dallas approached me last week, stating his wife is unable to continue to work her current job in Alaska while moving to Calgary as originally planned. As a father to two young girls he does not want to live apart from his family again this year. We respect this decision, supporting that family comes first and wish Dallas all the best in the future,” said Chynoweth.
It is believed that Trent Cassan and Jason LaBarbera will still be with the Hitmen when camp opens this summer.
Now, less than a year later, the Hitmen are looking for a head coach once again.
