The Prince Albert Raiders made major headlines on Monday morning when the team announced a coaching change.
Jeff Truitt has been relieved of his duties as the team’s head coach and will be replaced for the remainder of the season by Ryan McDonald, who will take over as the interim head coach.
The Raiders currently sit in first place in the East Division with a record of 34-22-5-1 and sit one point ahead of the Saskatoon Blades and Brandon Wheat Kings. The Raiders have posted a 4-4-2-0 record over their past 10 games.
In an interview with the Daily Herald, Raider general manager Curtis Hunt says he felt that the team needed a new voice in the dressing room.
“There’s an accumulation of events, time and performance expectations. Jeff is a good man and he’s a good coach. For us right now, It was my belief a different voice would be better for our group moving forward. It’s about timing I think right now, certainly the low hanging fruit is the last ten games and how we played. That is part of it, but not all of it. I’m not prepared to really expand much on that.”
Truitt has a lengthy coaching resume and is one of the most respected coaches in the WHL. He first began his coaching career with the Lethbridge Hurricanes during the 1993-94 season and spent three seasons as an assistant coach. He won the Memorial Cup with the Kelowna Rockets in 2004 and helped the team capture the WHL championship the following season. He has also spent time with the Red Deer Rebels
Truitt first joined the Raiders for the 2018-19 season as an assistant coach under Marc Habscheid and helped the team to the 2019 Ed Chynoweth Cup. Following Habscheid’s departure, Truitt was named the head coach of the Raiders ahead of the 2022-23 season and posted a 93-91-10-4 record in his tenure as the team’s bench boss.
Hunt says it wasn’t an easy conversation when he had to break the news to Truitt about the team moving in another direction.
“In the end, it’s my responsibility to be the caretaker for the team. I didn’t enjoy the process, I’ll be honest with you. The entire process and the time it took, you doubt yourself in so many ways, but in the end, I believe my feelings aside, it’s what the organization needed looking forward. That’s what we’re focused on, it’s appreciative for a lot of very good things he did in our community and with our club and building on those and moving forward.”
With the exit of Truitt, Ryan McDonald takes over the reins as the interim head coach for the Raiders. McDonald posted a 10-4-1-0 record behind the Raider bench earlier this season when Truitt took a medical leave of absence after undergoing eye surgery in December.
The coaching change comes with only six games on the regular season schedule and the Raiders in the thick of a tightly contested race for the top spot of the East Division and home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Hunt says he is hoping the change will give the Raiders a jolt heading down the stretch rather than waiting for the offseason to make a move.
“We hope to grab some energy from two young coaches. I think (Matteo) Fabrizi said it best today in the meeting. He said ‘guys, I went through this last year and it’s like a new season for us.’ He spoke about some energy and I think the kids will respond in a positive way.”
“I think it’s shocking for them, it’s hard for them, but I looked at it this way, I thought this is a good time, we throw in a young coach that we’ve seen have a very positive effect on our group. The team can travel now, get out of town, get away from the distractions, and it gives Ryan a chance to put a stamp on it and make any changes or adjustments that he sees fit just as we get down the stretch and compete here for that (East Division) pennant and then in preparation for playoffs. I feel better doing it now than riding it out and then we all go quietly into the night.”
The last time the Raiders made an in-season coaching change was in the 2014-15 season when Marc Habscheid replaced Cory Clouston.
The Raiders return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Lethbridge to take on the Hurricanes at the VisitLethbridge.com Arena. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
