PWHL Las Vegas adds years of experience behind the bench, as they continue to lay the foundation for one of the newest franchises in the PWHL.
PWHL Las Vegas announced today the hiring of 4 coaches to join Kim Weiss in PWHL Las Vegas behind the bench.
“We’re incredibly proud to welcome Ryan Smith, Jonathan Matsumoto, Brad Kirkwood, and Brendan Flanagan to Vegas to complete our coaching staff,” Said Dominique Didia
Starting with Assistant Coach Ryan Smith, who is coming from the Western Hockey League, where he was the associate head coach of the Regina Pats. Starting in 2008-2009 in the SJHL and then moving to the WHL, while also having some experience coaching Canada's under-16, 17, and 18 teams.
Assistant Coach Jonathan Matsumoto was drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 3rd round of the 2006 NHL Draft, with a long playing career of 1,000 games over different leagues. While playing, Jonathan also was coaching in Germany with some of the best Youth Hockey Development Programs.
Goaltending Coach Brad Kirkwood brings over 20 years of experience to the job and was recently the Goaltending Coach for the Toronto Sceptres. He also served as the Goaltending Coach for the University of Calgary for many years.
Video Coach Brendan Flanagan joins PWHL Las Vegas. Coming from St. Lawrence University, serving as the Director of Hockey Operations, and prior to that, Princeton University Men's Team. Brendan brings skills in player development, as well as even more experience behind the bench of PWHL Las Vegas.
“They each bring a unique perspective and experience from across all levels of hockey and, most importantly, a shared passion for developing and supporting our athletes. We’re excited to see the impact they’ll have on our players and our organization this season.” Said Dominique Didia
