NEW COACH REQUIRED
French opts to leave Hitmen
The Calgary Hitmen, already searching for a general manager, now need to hire a bench boss too.
The Western Hockey League squad announced Sunday that Mark French has accepted a job as head coach of the Fribourg-Gotteron Dragons of Switzerland’s National League A.
“It was a mixed-emotion decision, for sure,” said French, a father of two. “We certainly enjoyed our time in Calgary and the opportunities the organization provided us. But when different things present themselves, you have to look at them, and this seemed to be a very good match for me both professionally and personally and a real good opportunity that was maybe too much to pass up.
“I was able to go, through the process, to Switzerland to see the town and see the country. I’m really looking forward to coaching in the league, but I’m also looking forward to the opportunity it presents for my family.”
The Hitmen posted a 117-80-19 record during French’s three-season stay at the Saddledome, earning a post-season invite in each of those campaigns.
“Mark has had a significant impact on our hockey team in his three years here,” said Mike Moore, shuffled earlier this month from general manager to vicepresident and alternate governor, in a statement.
“He established a commitment to excellence, culture and character that has shaped our players. We will miss him and know he will have success in this new opportunity.”
This isn’t the first time that French has found work overseas.
Prior to joining the Hitmen, he was head coach of Medvescak Zagreb, a squad based in Croatia that has since moved from the KHL to Austria’s top professional league.
His two-plus decades of coaching experience also includes stints in the Canadian university ranks, the Ontario Hockey League, the East Coast Hockey League, the Central Hockey League and the American Hockey League.
He guided the AHL’s Hershey Bears to a Calder Cup crown in 2010.
“My challenge here was to come back and to coach junior-aged players, which I hadn’t done in a long time,” French said, reminiscing about his tenure with the Hitmen.
“But I think it made me better as a coach, to be able to rethink how I was going to approach players of this age and different levels of experience. At the junior level, you’re dealing with players from 16 to 21, so there’s a real good challenge within that.
“But I always thought that coming back to junior hockey, the one thing you had an opportunity to do was to shape them as hockey players but also shape them as individuals, and I think I’ll remember that time and being able to meet and work with kids at a very young age and see them through their career and really see the development.
“It just makes me smile even to think back at some of those guys who have gone on and will go on, and to see how much they’ve grown within their junior careers. I’ll certainly be keeping tabs on them and the Hitmen organization, knowing how much a great team and great organization that they will be.”