Update: Kevin Weekes is saying it’s going forward. Ryan Huska will be named head coach on Monday.
**Breaking News** 🚨 📰
— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) June 9, 2023
Credit @FriedgeHNIC for his report last night; the @NHLFlames will be naming Ryan Huska as their new HC, I’m told Press Conference to be held on Monday.
Pls excuse the Legend in background 😂. @espn @NHL @NHLNetwork #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/7s3vfuc98p
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Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on his and Jeff Marek’s 32 Thoughts podcast on Friday that longtime Flames Assistant Coach Ryan Huska appears to be the “leading contender… for the Flames coaching job.
Huska, 47, joined the Flames organization in the same offseason as Brad Treliving in 2014. Prior to that, Huska had been the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets for seven seasons. He served as an assistant coach in Kelowna for five seasons before being promoted.
As a head coach in the AHL, Ryan posted a record of 135-118-27 over four seasons. The first season with the Adirondack Flames and the following three with the Stockton Heat. Overall, the former Chicago Blackhawks 1993 third round pick has a record of 386 wins, 266 losses and 7 ties in his coaching career with the Kelowna Rockets, Adirondack Flames and Stockton Heat.
As a player, Huska has one game of NHL hockey on his resume. The 6’2… 194lb former left winger also has three Memorial Cups and three WHL Championships to his name. Not a bad junior career at all.
Other candidates include Pittsburgh Assistant Todd Rierden, Wranglers Head Coach Mitch Love, Detroit Assistant Alex Tanguay, Windsor Spitfires Head Coach Marc Savard, and the priced-out Gerard Gallant.
Do Players Like Him? The Sports Aux is an app created by former Flames college signee Josh Healey. On this app players, coaches, and team staff can review each other anonymously.
While it’s a bit of a silly concept, let’s take a look at what some players had to say about Ryan as a head coach. Players can review reviews and anonymously post whether they agree or disagree. Players also can provide an oddly intangible numbered rating to accompany their review.
Oh, and don’t mind the spelling and grammar issues. Need to keep this gossip authentic.
Husk expects the best out of his players and demands them to do the things that will push their development. Very organized day in and day out and he made it clear for every game how he expected you to play. 9.8 Two players agree
Harder on younger guys than old guys 8 One player disagrees
Huska is a really good coach. He holds guys accountable and gets the most out of his players every practice. It doesn’t matter if you’re a 1st rounder or free agent, he plays to win and will play the guys that are rolling that night. He tells you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear and will make you a better player. I’d recommend him as a coach any day 9.2 Two players disagree Two players agree
Cared to much on details that had nothing to do with the game. Micro managed players. Didn’t give confidence to guys who needed it. Honest and good person. Smart and understands the game well. 7
A couple thoughts on the potential hire.
Hiring Huska comes off as a bit of a double-edged sword. On one hand, you have a coach that has survived three coaching changes while on the Flames bench. Darryl Sutter, Bill Peters, and Geoff Ward. He also worked closely with Glen Gulutzan and Bob Hartley given that it’s common practice to have strong communication between the head coach of the affiliate and the head coach of the team above them.
So there is obviously a dearth of lessons that Huska has learned about approach.
He was there when Geoff Ward lost control of the group enough for Sutter to have a laundry list of bad habits to iron out when the grizzled Viking, Alberta native took over the bench. Likewise, he surely knew about Gulutzan struggling with the players over deployment issues. The most notable being continuing to start Brian Elliott in the playoffs as the Flames lost in four to Anaheim in 2017.
He also saw Hartley, Peters, and Sutter all get progressively tuned out by the majority of their rosters — but only after putting up superb seasons during their initial runs.
In theory, Huska has learned from observational trial and error that head coaches need to tow a line in a very specific manner. A Goldilocks Approach if you will.
The other train of thought may be that Huska has been around the core for this long. He’s been there for several tune-outs, he’s been there for several mutinies. If the Flames are to turn over a new leaf — Huska unfortunately can’t be the guy to do that. Even the most casual of fans could see there was something afoul in the dressing room by season’s end. A full bleach and a new toilet may be the only solution.
What do you think? Which of the candidates would you go for and why?
Trevor Neufeld
@Trevor_Neufeld
Stats and info via eliteprospects.com and nhl.com. Reviews sourced from The Sports Aux, which you should download and play around with. Darryl has some shining reviews.