Clouston departs after 16 years

By Ryan McCracken on May 31, 2019.

rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com
@MHNMcCracken

The Medicine Hat Tigers have parted ways with long-time head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston, and discussion is now swirling around the notion that former bench boss Willie Desjardins may be returning to the club.

Tigers media services manager Adam Jones said at a Thursday press conference that the club mutually reached the decision with Clouston and will now look toward finding someone who can take the team in a new direction.

Kamloops-based journalist Gregg Drinnan reported via Twitter Thursday that Desjardins — currently coaching down the road at the South Alberta Hockey Academy in Dunmore — has agreed to return to the Tigers as head coach and general manager, though Jones could not comment on whether the team has been in touch with him regarding the position. 

“I have no information on that whatsoever,” said Jones, adding the Tigers will hold another press conference this morning at 10 a.m. to discuss future changes with the club.

“I think it really is a case of going a different direction. We’ve been doing the same thing for a lot of years and it’s time to try something new.”

While he was not available at the team’s press conference and did not respond to request for an interview, Clouston took to Twitter Thursday evening to thank those who supported him over the past 16 years. 

“I loved being a Tiger and I am grateful for the tremendous opportunity to work with a great organization in ‘the best junior hockey league in the world.’ I have so many amazing memories to take with me and I will cherish getting to work with so many great people,” Clouston said in his tweet. “Thank you to all the passionate fans. Most importantly I especially want to thank all the players. I sincerely appreciate all the time and effort and energy you gave to the team. Through all the ups and downs year after year I loved going to battle with you every night.”

Tigers captain James Hamblin says the news came as a bit of a shock, as he and his teammates have all spent their entire Western Hockey League careers under Clouston’s guidance. 

“It’s something that I didn’t see coming and a little bit of sad news. I had many good years with Shaun and I wish him all the best in the future,” said Hamblin. “He’s the guy that kind of gave me a shot. He gave me an opportunity to play in the Western Hockey League. He believed in me, which was very important when I came to Medicine Hat as a 16-year-old. Like I said, he gave me that chance to be the player that I am today.”

Clouston joined the Tigers in 2003-04 after spending the previous year as head coach of the Tri-City Americans. The Viking product went on to serve as assistant coach under Desjardins for two years before earning a promotion to associate coach in 2005. When Desjardins parted ways with the team in 2010 — moving on to coach the AHL’s Texas Stars, then the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings — Clouston took over behind the bench. 

Over the course of the next eight seasons, Clouston broke Desjardins’ regular season coaching record with his 324th career victory in a 4-3 overtime win against the Red Deer Rebels on Dec. 30, 2017. Clouston accomplished the feat in 559 games with a 324-201-34 record — one win ahead of his predecessor’s 323-176-60 in the exact same number of contests — before moving on to close out his head coaching tenure in Medicine Hat at 375-241-46.

Clouston also added general manager to his duties in 2012 and went on to secure a number of blockbuster deals in the years to come. 

“Shaun’s fingerprints are going to be on this team for a long time, probably for at least the next five or six years,” said Jones. “He’s done a great job as a general manager for us in acquiring draft picks and acquiring players throughout the years.”

Clouston took the Tigers to the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons as head coach, making it past the first round six times — including trips to the Eastern Conference final in 2011 and 2014 — and only missing out in 2015-16 through a Game 73 tiebreaker loss to the Edmonton Oil Kings. 

“We would like to thank Shaun for his hard work, dedication and time with the Medicine Hat Tigers and we do wish him very well in his future endeavours,” said Jones. “He leaves the franchise as the winningest head coach of all time, so we really are grateful for everything that he did for us and our organization.”

Jones added assistant coaches Joe Frazer and Ryan Smith will remain in their roles moving forward.

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