He received the promotion after five years as an assistant amidst 21 seasons behind benches
After five years as an assistant coach with the team, and four guiding the team’s AHL affiliate, Ryan Huska was named head coach of the Calgary Flames on Monday.
“I’m honoured to have earned the trust of Flames ownership, of Craig (Conroy, the team’s GM) and the entire management group to coach this team,” Huska said in a statement. “My position coming into this is a little different than most as I know our players very well. We have good people in our dressing room, excellent hockey players who want to win. My job is to inspire them every single day to help get our team to the next level.”
The Flames will hold a press conference Monday afternoon.
Huska takes the helm after Darryl Sutter was fired last month, a decision reportedly made after players talked of issues between the coach and players.
Huska has coached in the Flames organization since the 2014-15 season when he took the reins with AHL Adirondack and then three years in Stockton before before becoming an assistant coach with the Flames in 2018. Players he guided in the minors include Rasmus Andersson, Andrew Mangiapane, and Oliver Kylington.
Huska spent seven years as head coach of the WHL Kelowna Rockets, where he coached Mikael Backlund.
There was no word about the status of the club’s other assistant coaches, nor Mitch Love, who has been named the AHL coach of the year the past two seasons.
“While continuity and familiarity are a benefit, we have witnessed first-hand Ryan’s work ethic,” Conroy said. “He is a clear communicator who builds trust with his players; and he’s a critical thinker with a plan.”
“Ryan has earned this opportunity and we are confident he is the right coach for our team,” Conroy added.
As a player, Huska won three Memorial Cup titles with the Kamloops Blazers in the early 1990s, two of those with Jarome Iginla as a team-mate, and was a third-round draft pick of the Chicago Blackhawks. He spent five years in the minors, and played one NHL game (coincidentally against the Flames), before turning to coaching.