It didn’t take the Brandon Wheat Kings long to find a replacement for Dave Lowry who has joined the Winnipeg Jets as an assistant coach.
Don MacGillivray has been named the 24th Head Coach in the history of the team.
MacGillivray has spent the past four seasons with the Wheat Kings. He has also served behind the bench in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League with the Neepawa Natives, St. James Canadiens, Winnipeg Blues, and Portage Terriers.
The new head coach of the Wheat Kings has also spent time as head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders. In 2008, he was named the Canada West Coach of the Year as a member of the Manitoba Bisons.
During a very successful tenure in the MJHL, Don was named coach of the year on four occasions (1995, 2005, 2012, and 2013), he won a championship with the Terriers in 2005 and with the Blues in 2014 when he was the team’s head coach and general manager.
In a release on wheatkings.com, Don had this to say.
“I’m very excited about this opportunity. I’d like to thank the ownership and management of the Brandon Wheat Kings for entrusting me with this position,” said MacGillivray. “I’m honoured, and I’m also grateful for the opportunity that I had working with Dave Lowry last season and David Anning the seasons previous.”
Darren Ritchie had this to say.
“This is a great opportunity for Don. He deserves it as he will do a great job leading our players,” said Ritchie. “He has a wealth of experience in junior hockey. I look forward to working with him and our coaching staff moving forward”.
The new WHL season is set to begin on January 8 with inter-division play. Brandon will be paired with the Winnipeg ICE, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Prince Albert Raiders, Moose Jaw Warriors and the Swift Current Broncos.
