Daily Dose

Daily Dose of the Dub: Cougars set to make coaching announcement, Tigers sign Shtrom, Rockets hire Fiddler

Written by Ben Dooley on

Cougars to hold a press conference on Thursday, expected to make coaching announcement

 

The Prince George Cougars will hold a press conference this morning where it is expected they will make an announcement in regards to their coaching staff for the 2019/20 season.

The Cougars parted ways with Richard Matvichuk after nearly three seasons with the team in February following an 11-game losing streak. Under Matvichuk, the Cougars posted an 85-89-22 record, which included a franchise-record 45 wins in his first season with the team en route to a B.C. Division Title.

Cougars GM Mark Lamb had taken over the head coaching role with Steve O’Rourke serving as an associate coach and Nick Drazenovic serving as an assistant coach.

Our Caden Fanshaw will be covering tomorrow’s press conference and will have all the details on dubnetwork.ca 

Tigers sign Shtrom 

The Medicine Hat Tigers have signed 2019 3rd-round pick Oren Shtrom to a WHL Player Agreement. Drafted out of Gilbert, Arizona, the 14-year-old forward played 12 games for the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes Bantam AAA team and was over a point-per-game player with three goals and 11 assists. He is the fourth player from the Tigers 2019 draft class to sign with the organization.

Kelowna hires former Rocket Fiddler to be an assistant coach 

The Kelowna Rockets have hired WHL alumni Vernon Fiddler (267 GP, 85 G, 100 A with the Rockets and Medicine Hat Tigers) to be an assistant coach with the team.

Fiddler was never drafted in the WHL or NHL but went on to have successful careers both in the WHL and in the NHL. He played 877 games in the NHL with the Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes, Dallas Stars, and New Jersey Devils, potting 104 goals and 157 assists before retiring after the 2016-17 season. Fiddler worked with the Stars last season in skills and development coaching at both the NHL and AHL level.

Chiefs announce the promotion of Ross to Director of U.S. Scouting

The Spokane Chiefs have announced the promotion of part-time area scout George Ross to Director of U.S. Scouting. Joining the Chiefs in 2014-15, Ross primarily covered his home state of Minnesota but had expanded his role to other states in recent years. He will be relocating to Spokane for the 2019-20 season and will oversee the U.S Scouting team as well as assisting the B.C. team when needed.

Winterhawks scouts headed to NHL

The Portland Winterhawks announced today that Winterhawks Director of U.S. Scouting Josh Dye and Minnesota-based scout Eric Fink have accepted NHL positions for the 2019-20 season and will be departing the organization.

Dye, who will be joining the Tampa Bay Lightning, had been with the organization for 10 seasons and was a key player in locating top talent across the U.S. and Europe.

In six seasons with the Winterhawks, Fink (who is joining the Carolina Hurricanes) helped the Winterhawks recruit players like Kieffer Bellows, Paul Bittner, Jack Dougherty, Clay Hanus, and Keegan Iverson.

Kessy gets AHL Contract

Forward Kale Kessy (253 GP, 46 G, 66 A with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Vancouver Giants, and Kamloops Blazers) has signed a one-year contract with the Hershey Bears of the AHL for the 2019-20 season. Kessy split last season between the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and Manitoba Moose, and the ECHL’s Idaho Steelheads. In 35 games with the Steelheads, Kessy scored 11 goals with 22 assists and recorded an ECHL-leading 289 penalty minutes.

Hurricanes alumni signs in KHL

Forward Tyler Wong (317 GP, 143 G, 155 A with the Lethbridge Hurricanes) has signed a two-year contract with the Kunlun Red Star of the KHL with hopes of representing China in the 2022 Olympic games which will be held in Bejing. Wong played with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL last season and scored five goals and eight assists in 68 games.

Brown joins AJHL’s Wolverines

Former WHL forward Mike Brown (171 GP, 15 G, 14 A with the Tri-City Americans and Swift Current Broncos) has joined the AJHL’s Whitecourt Wolverines as a Development and Skills coach.