Anton Astashevich blows past a teammate and gets creative as he dekes past goaltender Bryan Thomson. The Belarussian forward has 16 points in 47 games this season.
Seven games and six wins later, Lethbridge Hurricanes Head Coach Brent Kisio is golden.
Earlier this season, Kisio was asked to join Team Canada as an assistant coach at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Halifax.
Now in his eighth year with the Hurricanes, Kisio has proven himself as one of the top bench bosses in the WHL. Throughout his tenure, he’s only posted one non-winning season—and it ended just 24 games in as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked to describe the feeling of winning gold, Kisio hesitated then smiled.
“It’s pretty special. Every game was a battle. Winning the gold medal in overtime—I don’t think there’s a better way to win it.”
Team Canada’s path to gold wasn’t an easy one. An early upset versus Czechia had hockey fans across the nation calling for answers. That is, except Kisio.
“It was probably the best thing for us,” said Kisio. “It’s never fun to lose in that tournament—you’re always trying to win every game. But I think it was a teaching experience for us and it set us up to face some adversity in later games and find ways to battle back.”
Lethbridge Hurricanes forward Miguel Marques believes Kisio’s experience from the World Juniors hasn’t altered their game plan.
“I don’t think anything has changed since the start of the season,” said Marques. “[Kisio] set the tone early and we’ve been playing the same way even since.”
Marques said it was a blast to watch his coach help lead the Canadians to glory.
“[The team and I] were super excited for Canada to win gold. We got together to watch the final and it was really special to watch them bring it home,” said Marques.
At the World Juniors, the spotlight was on one kid from North Vancouver: Connor Bedard.
Special features on TSN, pre- and post-game interviews and endless commentary from those calling the action, Bedard was in the spotlight every second of every broadcast. One look at his career stats is enough to show he’s not only the best player on the team, but a generational talent who will likely make a big impact once he’s drafted into the NHL. At just 17-years-old, he’s already shattered Canadian scoring records at the World Juniors.
From the outside looking in, it might be easy to assume some envy among teammates who think they deserve more attention. But on the inside, it’s not the case at all.
“I think it’s almost the opposite,” said Kisio. “The guys are excited for him and they enjoy playing with him. The level of excitement he brings when he plays and the crowds he draws in, it kind of benefits everybody. He put up some incredible numbers in that tournament and did a lot for our team.”
This year’s championship was the 20th time Canada’s taken home gold—its fourth in the last six years.
For the Hurricanes, they’re comfortably in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and currently hold a playoff spot.
“We’ve just got to keep building forward and moving toward the playoffs,” said Marques.
The 2023 WHL Playoffs are scheduled to start March 31.
