Ryan Donald has been named BCHL Coach of the Year.
The Cranbrook Bucks head coach and general manager led the team to second place in the Interior Conference with a 36-14-1-3 record for 76 points, trailing only behind Penticton Vees, a perennial BCHL powerhouse.
Fred Harbison, head coach of the Penticton Vees and Cam Keith, head coach of the Surrey Eagles, were among the other nominees for the Joe Tennant Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the league’s top coach.
Donald has been with the Bucks since the club’s inception, navigating the tumultuous effects on the league caused by the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago in a shortened season where teams played out of hub cities.
Since then, as scheduling returned to pre-pandemic normality, the club has had success on and off the ice, with two berths in the playoffs over the last two years, while numerous Bucks players are landing college hockey scholarships. Indeed, this past season’s roster included 12 college commitments, which include accomplished programs such as the University of Minnesota and Yale University.
Donald has parlayed that success into a six-year extension with the club, which was announced last fall.
