Pierce knows all about rebuilds
Oil Kings assistant coach says time in Kootenay was learning experience
Luke Pierce is looking to be on the right side of the major junior hockey competitive cycle this time.
The new Edmonton Oil Kings assistant coach went through a pair of difficult seasons in charge of the Kootenay Ice during a rebuilding phase.
Pierce arrives in Edmonton, hoping the Oil Kings’ worst days are behind them, after finishing last in the WHL standings for the first time in franchise history last season.
“I think the Oil Kings are much further along than we were when we started in Kootenay,” said Pierce, whose hiring was announced on Monday.
“I think they’ve done a really good job with their drafts and some of the young players they have on their roster, along with their veteran guys. Some of them were in the league when I was still coaching in Kootenay and I have a lot of respect for them.
“I think they have a good balance and a good mix there, and talking to (GM) Kirt (Hill) and especially (head coach) Brad (Lauer), we feel very positive and realistic at the same time. There is some work to be done, and I think a fresh perspective will be a good thing. There will be some learning for all of us to get through, but that’s the exciting thing about the game at this level.”
Pierce, 34, joins the Oil Kings after a stint as an assistant with the Canadian Paralympic sledge hockey team, who claimed silver at the Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games. Pierce was also an assistant with Team Canada Red at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
“That was an amazing experience. I’ll be forever grateful to Hockey Canada for the opportunity to do that, to work with (head coach) Ken Babey and the staff there,” Pierce said of his time with the Paralympic team. “The players are exceptional young men and it was an experience for me that was life-changing and it will be something that I’ll be very fond off.”
Pierce played junior hockey with his hometown Merritt Centennials of the British Columbia Hockey League before moving on to play with the Vernon Vipers. He then spent five years playing with the Royal Military College in Ontario before returning to Merritt to coach the Centennials.
Pierce was hired as head coach of the Kootenay Ice for the 201516 season as the team underwent a complete rebuild. In their first year under Pierce, Kootenay had a 12-53-6-1 record, finishing at the bottom of the WHL standings. The following season, the Ice went 1446-10-2 and Pierce was fired.
“It was a phase coming into it. I knew it was going to be a young group and a rebuilding process,” Pierce said. “I was aware of that coming in. I think there were a lot of challenges there and a lot of aspects of the rebuild phase. But for me, as a coach, it was a tremendous learning experience. There are a lot of things that I learned from that and I would have done differently knowing what I know now, and I take a fair share of accountability for the lack of success there."
Last season the Oil Kings finished with a 22-42-6 record. The club fired head coach Steve Hamilton and did not renew the contract of assistant Randy Marsh, while parting ways with general manager Randy Hansch.
Hill was brought in as general manager in June and Lauer was hired as head coach a short time later. Pierce completes the Oil Kings coaching staff. He’ll be moving his family to Edmonton from Cranbrook, B.C., in the coming weeks.
“Brad has had a tremendous career at the NHL level as an assistant there and he’ll be a great resource for me,” Pierce said. “I look forward to having a little different angle with the players and building that type of relationship on an assistant’s level. Getting to know Brad, I think it’s going to be a pretty open-door policy with the players there. Player relations is a big aspect there, and I take a lot of pride in doing what I can to help make our staff better.”
Notes: The Oil Kings also announced on Monday that Jamie Novakoski, their director of scouting, won’t be returning next season. Novakoski spent five seasons with the Oil Kings and is leaving to purse a new opportunity outside of hockey.