Word today out of Salmon Arm that Coach/GM Rylan Ferster has stepped down. The former Smokies assistant was in his second term with the Silverbacks. He's had a lot of success there and will be difficult to replace. One can only assume from the press release that Ferster has found some kind of work at a higher level. What about a couple of the vacant WHL coaching jobs? The Kootenay Ice have had success with BCHL coaches before. We'll see where he lands. Good luck to Rylan who was always a class act and easy to deal with. Even when he was giving me a quick shove during my broadcast lats year!Big turn over with Salmon Arm this year as they fired Coach Matt Hughes after the season and now need to replace their GM as well. It'll be interesting to see what names become available. There was speculation a few months ago that former Vipers Coach Troy Mick might be the name to slide in there. However, Mick has since moved from Revelstoke to a position with Pursuit of Excellence. I would think that takes him out of the running.
A couple of names that pop into my head as possibilities include Vipers assistant Jason Williamson. Hard not to be interested in a guy who was a big part of back to back national champions. What about a top KIJHL coach like Will Verner in in Fernie who has BCHL experience as well? I wonder if former Smoke Eaters Coach Tim Kehler is interested in getting back into the BCHL after being let go in Swift Current. I'm sure there will be applications coming in from all over the hockey world.
Most fans seem to want to talk about Salmon Arm's goaltending situation. I wonder if that will be an issue for any new coach lining up to take over the job. No matter what they won't be short in applicants as they've been a very successful team in a strong market. Good luck to them in their search.
Stay tuned to the blog as today or tomorrow I want to get in to the details of some pretty significant rule changes in the BCHL.
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