Jeff Kyrzakos in Kitchener and Brendan Taylor in Saginaw will each be going from assistant to head coach in their respective organizations.
Sometimes, the best candidate might be right in your backyard, or at least close by.
That's what the Kitchener Rangers and Saginaw Spirit believe, with both teams searching for a new bench boss after Jussi Ahokas (Colorado Eagles) and Chris Lazary (University of Michigan) departed for greener pastures.
Both clubs decided to take an assistant coach and promote them to the big seat, with Jeff Kyrzakos taking over internally in Kitchener and Brendan Taylor coming into Saginaw from the Soo Greyhounds.
Jeff Kyrzakos will take over as the head coach of the Kitchener Rangers after spending the last three years as an associate coach and assistant GM with the team. (Photo: Steve Dunsmoor/CHL)Remarkably, both of these men share extremely similar coaching pathways.
Kyrzakos' coaching career started right as his playing career finished, going from player to coach mid-season with the Central Hockey League's Arizona Sundogs. After just a few games at the end of that season, he moved back closer to home to work as an assistant coach for the OJHL's St. Michael's Buzzers.
The Mississauga native then joined his native Steelheads for the 2016-17 season, serving as an assistant coach there for six straight years, before moving to the Rangers in 2023-24 to work under Ahokas.
Now, Kyrzakos will get his first head coaching role, taking over for the defending Memorial Cup champions.
Taylor also started out in the OJHL as an assistant coach, with the Oakville Blades. Then, also in 2016-17, he joined the Steelheads as a video coach, transitioning to an assistant coach the next season.
Taylor stayed on in Mississauga until the 2022-23 season, where he took the job as an assistant with the Greyhounds. Now, after four years as an assistant there, he also gets a head coaching role, in Saginaw.
These two will have plenty to catch up on when their two teams face off against each other next season.
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