A New (Wheat) King in Town

Just because Kelly McCrimmon left the Brandon Wheat Kings' coaching and front office staff doesn't mean that he doesn't have a hand in picking the team's new personnel, as he still has ownership stake in the team. Today, he introduced the coaching staff that will try to see the Wheat Kings to the league's first back-to-back WHL title since 1994-95, when the Kamloops Blazers turned the trick.

The new head coach is David Anning, who has been with the Wheat Kings in some capacity since the 2012-13 season. Before that, he plied his trade in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, spending time with the Steinbach Pistons, Dauphin Kings, and Winnipeg Saints in various capacities, including head coach and General Manager with Winnipeg. Don MacGillivray and Aaron Rome will be joining him as Assistant coaches, and while MacGillivray will be providing bench experience, having coached in the MJHL like Anning, Rome is fresh off of an NHL career that saw stops in Anaheim, Columbus, Vancouver, and Dallas. Darren Ritchie moves from behind the bench as an Assistant coach to become the new Director of Scouting while Tyler Plante returns to his junior team, this time as the Goaltending coach.

I have to say that it's a rather interesting dichotomy of who makes up the staff, as Anning is a 30-year old who has limited coaching experience, but a good idea of what is expected of the Wheat Kings, having served under McCrimmon for much of his time in Brandon. MacGillivray and Rome will provide differing viewpoints, as Rome recently played in the NHL while MacGillivray will provide Anning a contemporary, as both coached in the MJHL. Ritchie's promotion comes as no surprise, as he has been around Brandon as a coach for nine years, so learning what McCrimmon wants in players that come through should be second nature, while Plante brings experience from his time domestically and abroad to give the next generations of goalies knowledge.