The Canmore Eagles of the Alberta Junior Hockey League are pleased to announce that former NHL player Jeremy Reich has signed on to become assistant general manager and assistant coach for the 2012-2013 season.
Reich, played 90 NHL games for the Boston Bruins from 2006-2008 and spent last season playing pro hockey in Europe for the German team ERC Igolstadt.
The 33-year-old native of Craik, Saskatchewan, was drafted 39th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in 1997 and was a former teammate of Eagle Head Coach and General Manager Andrew Milne when they both played for the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League during the 1997-1998 and 1998-1999 seasons.
“I’ve known Jeremy for the past 15 years and he will be a huge addition for the Canmore Eagle’s hockey club this year,” said Milne. “He’s played at the highest level possible and knows what it takes to be successful in hockey. His professional experience will be a great asset on the practice rink, in the dressing room and on the bench.”
For Reich, the opportunity to enter the coaching ranks beside an old friend and in the beautiful town of Canmore, was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.
“I’ve been thinking of becoming a hockey coach for a few years now and this opportunity to work with Andrew and move to Canmore seemed like a perfect fit,” said Reich, who recently sold his house in Seattle, Washington. “I’ve been playing pro hockey for the past 12 years under a lot of different head coaches, so hopefully I can bring some of this experience to Canmore and help the program succeed. I am also very excited about living and working in Canmore.”
For Milne, the arrival of a full-time assistant coach is a godsend. For the past four AJHL seasons, Milne has been helped out as much as possible by assistant coach Kurtis Jones.
“Kurtis has been invaluable to me as an assistant coach and I can’t thank him enough for his dedication and assistance to the hockey club,” said Milne. “Unfortunately, Kurtis also had a full-time job as an electrician so he couldn’t be at the rink as much as he would have liked. Kurtis will work along side Jeremy and will remain as an assistant coach for us and give us as much time as he can afford.”
The Canmore Eagles would like to welcome Jeremy his wife Marcie and their two daughters Addison (4.5) and Parker (2.5) to Canmore and the Eagles family.