The coaching chaos continues to roil in Nanaimo as Curtis Toneff resigned as interim head coach with what the team reported as a “non-physical incident with an opposing player” following the Clippers’ sa国际传媒 Hockey League game in Chilliwack last weekend.
Toneff was hired over the off-season following two seasons as head coach and GM of the Merritt Centennials.
“We have accepted Curtis’ resignation, which we believe is in the best interest of the team and organization,” said Brad Kwong, managing partner of the Clippers’ ownership group.
“Unfortunately, Curtis made a mistake which he sincerely regrets. We are confident he will learn from the experience,” added Kwong, in a statement.
“Curtis is a fine young coach who has performed admirably for the Clippers in a challenging situation. We believe he is a good person with a bright future in coaching.”
The club said Bob Beatty will guide the Clippers bench as interim head coach while it “awaits a decision on Colin Birkas’ status.”
Former Clippers head coach and GM Birkas has been temporarily suspended from those positions since March “pending the completion of a third-party investigation into complaints filed under Hockey sa国际传媒’s discipline and complaints policy,” the club said at the time, and that “no further comment will be made until this matter is resolved.”
The club added at the time that Birkas “denies the allegations made against him” and that the Clippers are “co-operating with the investigation and working diligently to help resolve this matter expeditiously.” Beatty and assistant coach Tyler Gow closed out last season behind the Nanaimo bench.
It was then assistant-coach Birkas who took over as Nanaimo head coach and GM when previous bench boss and GM Darren Naylor was placed on league-mandated administrative leave late in the 2021-22 season for allegedly breaching the league coaches code of conduct. The BCHL has still offered few details about that situation.
Birkas went on to lead Nanaimo to the 2022 Coastal Conference championship and the 2022 BCHL final before losing to the Penticton Vees.
The Clippers are 6-6-2 heading into Saturday night’s home game against the Cowichan Valley Capitals at Frank Crane Arena.
ON THE ICE: The Alberni Valley Bulldogs got a pair of goals from Cole Bishop to beat the Victoria Grizzlies 5-2 in Port Alberni on Friday night. Patrick Murphy and Reegan Hiscock had the Grizzlies’ goals. The Bulldogs improve to 11-4 on the season, while the Grizzlies fall to 11-4.
The Grizzlies host the Powell River Kings (3-8-1 heading into Friday night’s game versus the Trail Smoke Eaters) Saturday night at The Q Centre.
