KL makes a bench move
Kyle Smart has been fired as coach and general manager of the Kirkland Lake Gold Miners of the Northern Ontario Jr. Hockey League, Hockey News North has confirmed.
Under Smart, Kirkland Lake had the second worst record in the 12-team NOJHL in 2021-2022, a 12-33-3 mark. And the Gold Miners had a league worst record of 1-10-1 to begin this 2022-2023 season, which led to the removal of Smart as coach and GM.
Despite its 1-10-1 record to date, Kirkland Lake is well within range of the fourth place Cochrane Crunch and fifth seed French River Rapids in the NOJHL’s East Division standings. Cochrane has a record of 3-8-1 and French River is 3-8-0 heading into play this week.
Gold Miners team president Derek Callahan commented on the decision to relieve Smart of his duties.
“With the unanimous support of the executive committee of the Gold Miners, Kyle has been relieved of his duties,” offered Callahan. “After taking some time to fully digest where we stand currently in the East Division, as well as in the entire NOJHL, we felt that the direction of our team for both this season and beyond would benefit from a new voice.”
I think Tom, Jed, and Rick can put a quality team on the ice. I’m really looking forward to the rest of the season