BEST IN CANADA
Western Capitals’ bench boss Billy McGuigan named top junior A coach in the country
Western Capitals’ bench boss Billy McGuigan named top junior A coach in the country
Billy McGuigan was thinking of others on the day he was recognized as the top junior A hockey coach in Canada.
It is part of his upbringing and one of the reasons he has been able to get the most out of his teams for 20 years.
“I owe a lot of people a lot of things in hockey,” said the Summerside D. Alex MacDonald Ford Western Capitals’ head coach. “It’s not just me. It’s a lot of people working together.”
He said he has been fortunate to work for a great organization with a loyal fan base while being supported by a talented staff and highly skilled players.
McGuigan, 44, said the recognition wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous support he receives at home.
“My family plays a major part in all of this. My wife, Tammy, is the rock in our family and my kids (Emmalee, Brooke and Clarke) sacrifice a lot. You miss opportunities with them, but they love the Caps as much as I do.”
EARLY DAYS
McGuigan grew up in Charlottetown as one of Brenda and Barney’s two children. The couple instilled the value of hard work in their children at a young age.
McGuigan was drafted by the Windsor Spitfires but didn't make the Ontario squad. While continuing to play in P.E.I., he caught the eye of Peterborough Petes’ head Atlantic scout, Shane Turner, who signed him as a free agent.
“He was all heart,” Turner recalled.
“He had some skill, but he got by with work ethic, passion and high compete.”
He made the Petes during his 19-year-old season and it wasn’t long before the GM’s phone was ringing. Kitchener had a highly skilled team but was looking for someone who could play but also had a physical edge to their game. Peterborough didn’t want to move McGuigan, but the offers kept increasing with each call until they finally agreed to a deal.
McGuigan turned pro the next season and played four years with Detroit, Saginaw, Fort Worth, Alaska and Idaho.
With the NHL dream fading, the 25-year-old, who played a couple of exhibition games with the Colorado Avalanche, decided to look for an alternative.
COACHING
McGuigan’s younger brother Mike was playing midget hockey for the Charlottetown Abbies in 2000.
Head coach Vernon Frizzell asked him to join the staff as an assistant.
“He was well-informed, believe me. He knew what he was doing,” Frizzell said.
It wasn’t intended to be a long-term gig, but McGuigan has been coaching ever since.
The following year, he took over as head coach of the major midget squad and had his brother Mike and Tyson Bradley as assistants. They made it to the Atlantic final in Kensington before losing to a 14-year-old phenom (Sidney Crosby) and his Dartmouth Subways squad. McGuigan was hooked. He liked the challenge of building a team, working with aspiring young hockey players and the thrill of victory. But it was – and still is – the people which mean the most to him.
“It was being around a team, being around players, interacting with young men and just that camaraderie of being a team and the people you meet.”
McGuigan’s success behind on the bench didn’t surprise Turner.
“When he came home, he turned all of that passion into coaching and you can see it in his players,” he said. “He’s almost like a Gerard Gallanttype coach. Players want to play for him and they’ll go through the wall for him. He coaches with passion and desire and you see that in his teams and that’s why he’s been successful.”
JUNIOR
McGuigan joined the junior ranks in 2006 with the Abbies. After two years there and three more in Miramichi, N.B., McGuigan was hired as head coach of the Western Capitals in 2011.
He coached two years in Summerside, leading the Caps to the 2013 RBC Cup final on home ice before heading west to join a former teammate as an assistant coach with the Regina Pats.
He came back to Summerside the following season and has been there ever since.
OFFICIAL
McGuigan was working at the correctional centre in Summerside Wednesday when the news broke. He was overwhelmed with emotion later that night as a parade went by his home and players from the past 15 years sent messages of congratulations.
“It’s a bond that’s hard to identify,” McGuigan said. “I think you get the best out of players because you respect them. At the end of the day, you’ve got to show you care.”
Captain Brodie MacArthur wasn’t surprised by the news, noting McGuigan has had the Caps in the national rankings during the past three seasons.
“We had the team to win it all this year and he was leading the way.”
Tanner McCabe played for McGuigan for the final two seasons of his junior career after a trade from Miramichi brought him back to the Island.
“That was probably the best thing that happened in my development,” he said. “From Day 1, he was a great coach and very motivated. (He) always took an interest in developing my game and me as a person.”
He called McGuigan a players’ coach who implements good systems to help his team succeed.
“He knows the game and knows how to interact with his players and get the best out of them.”