Clouston was brought in prior to last season amid high expectations, as they were pre-season favorites to win the East Division. Those expectations should have been met, as they were returning Leon Draisaitl from his solid rookie campaign in the the WHL, as well as Josh Morrisey and even brought in Cole Cheveldae to be the starting goalie after a solid tenure in Kamloops. Once the season started, things didn't go as planned. While Draisaitl did his part, everything else did not go as planned, as Cheveldae was splitting time with Nick McBride as the season wound down and the Raiders needed a tie-breaker game against Red Deer to make the playoffs, where they were promptly disposed of by eventual league and Memorial Cup champion Edmonton. A 6-9-0-0 record to start the season combined with some locker room disharmony (e.g. Dakota Conroy being sent home) contributed to Clouston's dismissal.
As for the new guy in Habscheid, he knows a thing or two about winning teams, as he has coached in Kamloops, Kelowna, and Chilliwack/Victoria, winning a league title in 2003 and the Memorial Cup in 2004. He was last seen in an executive position with the parent company that owns the Victoria Royals. Time away shouldn't be too much of a concern, as he had a five year hiatus between his last year in Kelowna (the Memorial Cup year) and his first year in Chilliwack.
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