He’s only been living on the West Shore for seven weeks, but Brad Knight has already landed his dream job.
The former Nanaimo Clipper defenceman and veteran hockey administrator was named the new general manager for the Victoria Grizzlies hockey club.
“I gotta be honest, running a junior A hockey club was on my bucket list,” he said at a Wednesday morning media briefing at The Q Centre.
Knight, 42, enters the picture after the team reached the B.C. Hockey League semifinals, its farthest playoff run in recent years. He replaces Pete Zubersky, who took the job on an interim basis earlier in the season.
Knight doesn’t initially see the club having to undergo major retooling, despite losing the electrifying Fitzgerald triplets and a couple other key players to graduation.
“We just want to reload and get back at it,” he said. “These boys came within two wins of getting to the league final. We’re not going to blow up the organization and rebuild from scratch.”
His plan is to assess the organization from the top down, but hinted that head coach Craig Didmon’s job is safe.
Working in business in recent years has given him a good understanding about how business and sports can mix, he said. His hope is to reconnect fans to the fact the BCHL is a stepping stone league for players as they move up.
Team owner John Wilson gave kudos to Zubersky, who helped steady the club during an unsettled period for the franchise.
“Everybody’s back and excited about supporting Grizzlies hockey again, and that’s largely due to Pete and his team,” Wilson said.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com