After three years away from junior hockey, former Prince Albert Raiders bench boss Marc Habscheid is back in the WHL.
Habscheid led the Raiders to the WHL championship and a Memorial Cup appearance in 2018-19, then stepped down in 2022 to take a coaching position in Austria. After two seasons in Europe, Habscheid took a year off before returning to the WHL coaching ranks on Friday, this time with the Red Deer Rebels.
“Did I think I’d be sitting here two years ago? Not a chance, but this is where I am, and a 15-month old little granddaughter in Calgary has a lot of things to say too,” Habscheid said during an introductory press conference with Rebels GM and owner Brent Sutter.
Habscheid hasn’t coached in the WHL since his time in Prince Albert. He spent the last year travelling and recovering from a pair of hip surgeries.
The two time WHL champion briefly considered retiring from the game for good, but said he missed the camaraderie that comes with being part of a junior hockey team.
“Honestly, I thought ‘do I just want to retire’ and after a year (away) I just didn’t want to do that,” Habscheid said. “I’m 62. I’m not young, but I’m not old. I really miss that coach’s office. That was a big thing for me, just the laughs and the winning and the losing and just enjoying the people. I miss that, and I want that back and to enjoy it and to give something back to the organization.”
Habscheid joined the Raiders in 2014. Over seven seasons, he led the club to a 249-199-38 record, and was named WHL Coach of the Year in 2019.
Rebels GM and Owner Brent Sutter said there were plenty of candidates for the team’s open head coaching position, but his experience competing against Habschied pushed the Swift Current product to the top of the list.
“I knew when I had to coach against him his teams were going to be very well-prepared,” Sutter said on Friday. “They played very disciplined (and) structured. (They were a) hard team to play against, and I always respected the way he coached and the way he had his teams prepared.”
Habscheid takes over a Red Deer team that finished 13 points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Rebels finished ninth in the 11-team conference, and last in the Central Division.
When asked for his thoughts on the roster Habscheid said he’s still learning about it, but is looking forward to the process.
“I told Brent right off the bat, … I’m here to ask a lot of questions and learn about a lot of things,” he said. “There are things I still have to learn from Brent and the staff here, but I know the foundation. I know his teams. I don’t even have to watch video. I know what they’re all about. I know how they work and the expectations are there.
“I know their goaltending’s good and their backend is good, so we’re going to work to score,” he added. “When I played, I loved the offensive side of it and the creativity, but there has to be creativity within structure, and that just doesn’t happen. There’s a process to that. I want the players to play together not because they have to but because it’s a choice, and that’s a big difference.”
Raiders to open season against Saskatoon
The Prince Albert Raiders will open the next regular season the way they ended the last one: with a game against the Saskatoon Blades.
The WHL announced their home opening dates on Wednesday. The Raiders will host the Blades on Friday, Sept. 19 before travelling south for a rematch in Saskatoon on Saturday, Sept. 20.
The Raiders will be a part of three home openers this year. Aside from their own and Saskatoon’s, Prince Albert will also face the Regina Pats in their opener at the Brandt Centre on Friday, Sept. 26.
The Portland Winterhawks have the latest home opener on the schedule. They won’t play at home until Oct. 25 while construction crews renovate Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The WHL’s newest franchise, the Penticton Vees, will host the Kelowna Rockets in their home opener on Friday, Sept. 26.
The WHL will release their pre-season schedule and 782-game regular season schedule the week of June 23.
