Huska, 47, has been with the Flames organization since 2014 when he was hired to be the head coach of their American Hockey League and in 2018, he was promoted to Calgary to become an assistant coach.
The Cranbrook native had a fairly brief professional career after leaving the WHL, but did appear in one National Hockey League for the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1997-98 and interestingly enough, his only ever game was against the Calgary Flames.
There are a lot of Flames fans who have shown their displeasure with the news on social ever since Elliotte Friedman reported the news a couple of days ago. The frustration stems mainly from the defensive style of play that many assume Huska will enforce. Huska's role with the Flames previously was focused on the defence and penalty kill and many fans expect Calgary to play the same system that they did under Darryl Sutter.
Even if the Flames wanted to give the role to someone already in the organization, it's a little bit shocking that it went to Ryan Huska over Mitch Love, who was recently named AHL Head Coach of the Year, for the second consecutive season.
POLL | ||
JUIN 12 | 108 ANSWERS BREAKING | BC native to be named head coach of the Calgary Flames on Monday Do you think the Flames made the right decision naming Ryan Huska as their new head coach? | ||
Yes | 43 | 39.8 % |
No | 46 | 42.6 % |
Should have gone to Mitch Love | 10 | 9.3 % |
See Results | 9 | 8.3 % |
List of polls |