Hitmen name Kraken assistant Paul McFarland head coach
The Calgary Hitmen announced Thursday that Seattle Kraken assistant Paul McFarland will be their next head coach.
McFarland, 38, has a half-decade of major junior experience as an assistant coach, head coach and general manager, in addition to six seasons as an assistant coach in the NHL with the Florida Panthers, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and Kraken.
Prior to joining the Panthers organization, McFarland served as an assistant coach for two years with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL and three seasons as head coach of the Kingston Frontenacs.
“We’re extremely excited to introduce Paul to the Hitmen and Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corporation,” said Hitmen general manager Garry Davidson, in a media statement.
“Paul brings significant experience and knowledge from his past NHL and major junior positions,” Davidson added. “He will be a tremendous influence both on and off the ice for our team as we continue to grow and develop with the goal of a WHL and Memorial Cup Championship.”
Prior to launching his coaching career in 2012, McFarland played for three seasons with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL, where he was part of the 2003 Memorial Cup-winning team. He also played for the Windsor Spitfires before moving on to play three seasons with the Acadia Axeman, where he was the captain of the men’s hockey team.
The university athletic department created the Paul McFarland Captain in the Community Award, which is given to a men’s hockey player who demonstrates leadership in the community as well as the classroom.
He said getting the offer to coach the Hitmen was too good an opportunity to give up.
"The biggest attraction is first of all the people that I'm going to be having a chance to work with," he said. "This is a young and exciting group of players that are on the upswing that I think are going to have a chance to grow here a lot over the next couple of years.
"And then the opportunity to be a head coach again, in a great city," he added.
Some of the Hitmen players were on hand for the announcement and McFarland had a message for them.
"For us, we want to try to build that team mindset where we together can do more than we could individually and so that is what we're going to focus on and build that type of culture with our group on a day-to-day basis," he said.
Having a new voice deliver a fresh message is never a bad thing, added Hitmen defenceman Carter Yakemchuk.
"I'm super excited," he said. "Just listening to him talk about all of the experience he has at the NHL level and the things he's going to do for our organization and our team, it's all super-exciting."
As for the style McFarland wants his team to play, expect it to be fast-paced.
"We're going to play a very fast game," he said. "That's the one thing you could say about our group when you come watch us play.
"We're going to be fast," he added. "Obviously we're going to be a team that's willing to play on the offensive side of the puck as much as possible and we're going to make sure that the competitiveness of our group and that playing together attitude shines through when you watch us play."
McFarland will be joined in Calgary by his wife Kelly and sons Cooper and Keaton.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Dismantled' human smuggling group tied to dead migrants in St. Lawrence River: RCMP
A human smuggling ring recently dismantled by members of the RCMP was connected to the deaths of eight migrants who drowned in the St. Lawrence River while trying to cross illegally into the United States last year.
As it happened: How the Oilers crushed the Panthers to force Game 5
The Edmonton Oilers' offence exploded in Game 4 to beat the Florida Panthers 8-1.
Rare surgery in Montreal allows 9-year-old girl to live normal life
A rare surgery at the Montreal Children's Hospital is allowing a nine-year-old girl to keep her adrenal glands and live a normal life.
Trump blasts immigrants for taking jobs as he courts voters at a Black church, MAGA event in Detroit
Donald Trump blamed immigrants for stealing jobs and government resources as he courted separate groups of Black voters and hardcore conservatives in battleground Michigan on Saturday.
German police shot a man allegedly threatening them with an ax in Euro 2024 host city Hamburg
German police said Sunday they shot and wounded a man who was threatening them with an ax and a firebomb in the northern city of Hamburg, hours before it hosted a match in the European Championship soccer tournament.
A new tax filing system could give Canadians more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits: PBO
Canadians would get more than $1 billion in unclaimed benefits each year through an automatic tax filing system, according to a report published by the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO).
East Coast authorities working on warning signs for great white sharks
There's growing evidence that the number of great white sharks is on the rise along Canada's East Coast, where plans are in the works to post warning signs for beachgoers for the first time.
Israel's army says it will pause daytime fighting along a route in southern Gaza to help ramp up aid
Israel's military announced on Sunday that it would pause fighting throughout daytime hours along a route in southern Gaza to free up a backlog of humanitarian aid deliveries destined for desperate Palestinians enduring a humanitarian crisis sparked by the war, now in its ninth month.
Foreign Affairs Minister insists there are no ‘traitors’ in Liberal caucus
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly insists there are no "traitors" in the Liberal caucus, after a report from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) alleged there are MPs and senators who are “semi-witting or witting participants” in foreign interference efforts.