The Red Deer Rebels announced the hiring of Mike Egener as an assistant coach.
Only the goaltender coach position remains open.
Fans of the team may remember Egener as a defenseman with the Calgary Hitmen from 2000 through 2004. Egener was a tough customer, racking up 704 penalty minutes through 224 regular-season games. He also scored six goals and added 31 assists.
His brother, Luke, also a defenseman, played for the Red Deer Rebels from 2005 until 2009.
Egener did enough to be drafted 34th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003, although he was unable to crack the team’s regular-season roster. He did play 11 professional seasons between the AHL, ECHL, and European leagues.
Following three seasons with the Coventry Blaze in the EIHL in the United Kingdon, Egener decided it was time to retire. In his final season in 2014-15, Egener was designated a player-assistant coach.
He then embarked on a coaching journey that saw him get his feet wet with the Mount Royal University Cougars as an assistant coach for one season. In September 2016, Egener became the head coach of the Okanagan HA U15 Prep team in the CSSHL U15 league. He spent four seasons as the bench boss in Penticton, BC.
The 36-year-old Egener joins a Rebels coaching staff that includes newly hired Head Coach Steve Konowalchuk, Assistant Coach Ryan Colville, and Skills Coach Erik Lodge.
General Manager Brent Sutter is expected to take a few weeks to hire a goaltending coach, a position vacated when Kramer Barnstable was not offered a contract extension.
