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| Thursday, June 03, 2010 |
67's Add AGM to Byrne's Role
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June 3, 2010 (Ottawa, ON.): The Ottawa 67’s today announced that Head Coach Chris Byrne’s role has been expanded to include the duties of Assistant General Manager. In that capacity, Byrne will coach the team and collaborate with General Manager Brian Kilrea on player personnel and hockey operations’ strategies, scouting and administrative activities. Byrne also received a two-year contract extension, which ensures he’ll be in the organization until the end of the 2012-13 season.
“Chris has earned the right to take on more responsibility in our organization,” said 67’s Owner and Governor, Jeff Hunt. “Over the last 4 seasons Chris has proven his ability to develop our players—teach them how to work together as a team and focus them on becoming the best they can be—and now it’s time for him to help us identify talent and learn the ropes of running an OHL Hockey Operations department from the master…Brian Kilrea.”
“I always tell our players that they need to constantly push themselves to earn more ice time and help the team improve and I’m thankful to Jeff and the 67’s organization for giving me the opportunity to practice that same philosophy on myself,” said Byrne. “Killer (GM Kilrea) allowed me to work closely with him on player development since I joined the organization and I’m looking forward to expanding our collaboration as we try to shape Memorial Cup winners.”
Chris Byrne, an Ottawa native, joined the 67’s as an Assistant Coach in 2006 after a successful tenure as Head Coach and General Manager of the Nepean Raiders of the Central Junior Hockey League. With the Raiders, he won consecutive League championships in 2003 and 2004 and was named CJHL Coach and Executive of the Year. He assumed the head coaching role with the 67’s last season, upon the retirement of Brian Kilrea from the coaching ranks. Kilrea spent 32 seasons as Head Coach and General Manager before relinquishing the coaching part of his job.
“Chris has proven to me that he’s a good hockey man and that he deserves a chance to move up in our organization,” said Kilrea. “He and I have talked about the players we have and the types of players we’d like to have since he joined the team, and so today’s move is really something that formalizes a relationship we’ve had for some time, and it’s a good one.”
With this year’s OHL Priority Selection Draft behind them, Kilrea and Byrne are now focused on training camp, which begins at the Urbandale Centre in less than 13 weeks (Sept. 2).
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