The whispers that Spencer Carbery of Victoria will soon be on an NHL bench grew to a full-throated roar Friday as the Islander was named American Hockey League coach of the year for guiding the venerable Hershey Bears to the best record in the AHL at 24-7-2 for a .758 winning percentage that is the second-highest in the 83-year history of the league鈥檚 oldest franchise.
Carbery follows in some hallowed footsteps despite being only 39. Previous winners of the AHL coach-of-the-year award include Fred Shero, Al MacNeil, John Muckler, Jacques Demers, Mike Milbury, John Paddock, Marc Crawford, Barry Trotz, Robbie Ftorek, Peter Laviolette, Claude Julien, Kevin Dineen, Scott Arniel, Jon Cooper and Willie Desjardins.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very humbling when you look at that list,鈥� said the Claremont Secondary graduate, who came up through Saanich Minor Hockey, Racquet Club, Peninsula Panthers of the VIJHL in Junior B and Cowichan Valley Capitals of the BCHL.
鈥淥bviously, I hope one day to coach in the NHL. But there鈥檚 still a lot to learn. I try to stay grounded, wherever I am, and just go day to day to what needs to be done that day.鈥�
Carbery said he still leans on the lessons he learned from Island hockey coaches: 鈥淔rom Jack Hagen and Craig Didmon at Racquet Club to Pete Zubersky with the Peninsula Panthers and Greg Adams in Cowichan Valley, I鈥檝e drawn tidbits of knowledge from each one of them. They all helped mould my hockey mind.鈥�
The Bears are the main farm team for the Washington Capitals of the NHL. Carbery said his most touching note Friday came from Caps鈥� minority owner, president and alternate governor Dick Patrick, son of Victoria all-round sporting great Muzz Patrick and grandson of Victoria Cougars Stanley Cup-winning hockey legend Lester Patrick: 鈥淗e said congratulations from one Victoria guy to another.鈥�
Carbery himself didn鈥檛 have to go far from home to learn coaching, even if it was in a different sport. He was surrounded by it. Dad Bryan Carbery is the retired head coach of the University of Victoria golf team and guided the squad to four RCGA Canadian university titles in his 13 years at the helm of the Vikes.
Spencer Carbery, not surprisingly, was a two-sport athlete, becoming Lower Island age-group golf champion at 14 as a member of Uplands. He quipped that he more than held his own in the Bears鈥� season-ending golf tournament.
Carbery worked his way up the minor-pro head coaching chain, successfully guiding the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL from 2011 to 2016 with a 207-115-39 record and a trip to Game 7 of the 2015 Kelly Cup final. Carbery became head coach of the Saginaw Spirit of the major-junior OHL in 2016-17. That led to his first Hockey sa国际传媒 national team assignment as assistant coach with Team sa国际传媒 Black for the 2017 World U-17 Hockey Challenge in Dawson Creek and Fort St. John.
After a season as assistant coach in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, Carbery was named head coach of the Bears on June 26, 2018, and has led the historic club to a three-season record of 104-50-17. Hershey, Pennsylvania, is known as the 鈥淪weetest Place on Earth鈥� because of its fame as a chocolate producer. Its hockey team has a pretty sweet coach, too.
鈥淚 am demanding because I want to push these players to play in the NHL 鈥� but you do that in a relatable and compassionate way,鈥� said Carbery, who played in the NCAA.
鈥淚 want to see them succeed in their pro careers.鈥�
The Bears have won a record 11 Calder Cup championships since joining the AHL in 1938-39 but the chance for a 12th was stymied by the pandemic because there are no playoffs this season.
鈥淲e鈥檙e disappointed not to play the playoffs because we felt we had the team to challenge to win the Calder Cup,鈥� said Carbery, by phone.
鈥淏ut it was still a quality year for us, given the circumstances. We will never forget this season.鈥�
