The man who has led the Osoyoos Coyotes to one Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) championship and three conference finals during his four years in charge has signed a new two-year contract to remain as the coach and general manager.

Coyotes’ owner Randy Bedard confirmed last Friday that he has signed Ken Law to a new two-year contract as head coach and general manager and to be responsible for the hockey operations of one of the KIJHL’s most successful franchises.

Both Law and Bedard were thrilled a new deal has been signed.

“We had already talked about me staying on since the end of the season, but it’s nice to put paper to pen and get this done,” said Law, who has been coaching hockey at various levels for the past 36 years.

Bedard is a great owner who doesn’t meddle in the day-to-day operations of the hockey club and lets him and his coaching staff make all of the hockey-related decisions, which is something he appreciates, said Law.

“Randy does a really great job in marketing and promoting the hockey club and putting fans in the seats and because we have such great support in the community, a lot of kids want to play here,” said Law.

In his first year as coach and general manager, Law led the Coyotes, who had just returned to the KIJHL, to a league championship in a brilliant season in which they lost only a handful of games during the regular season and playoffs.

In his second season, the Coyotes had a great regular season, but came up short in the first round of the playoffs to the Kelowna Chiefs.

Two years ago, the Coyotes had an average regular season, but caught on fire late and won their division and came within one game of the league championship series, losing in game seven to the North Okanagan Knights.

This past season, the Coyotes again finished in third place in their division during the regular season, but caught fire over the final month and carried it into the playoffs.

After sweeping Kelowna in the first round, they easily defeated North Okanagan in the division final.

After winning the first game in the conference final against the powerful Kamloops Storm, the Coyotes lost four-straight games.

Law joined the Coyotes not long after spending three years as an assistant coach with the Penticton Vees of the BCHL.

While he has had offers to return to the BCHL, none have been as a head coach and he has never been tempted in any way to leave Osoyoos, said Law, who has lived in Penticton since 1995.

He sees the KIJHL as a “development league” where young players can improve their skills and then move on to a higher level, said Law.

“I think our biggest job is to help the players move on to the next level and we’ve done a very good job in my four years here doing that,” he said. “A good number of young players have moved on to the BCHL … and we’ve helped a lot of the older guys land spots playing college hockey and we’re proud of that.”

Winning the championship the first year in Osoyoos was definitely something he will never forget, but every season has been enjoyable in its own way, said Law.

“All have been interesting in their own way,” he said. “This past year, we struggled a little bit at times, but everything eventually came together to the point where we could compete with any team when it counts the most in the playoffs.”

Bedard said he’s thrilled to have Law back for two more years.

“Ken is a very good hockey coach and his record of success since he came on board here in Osoyoos speaks for itself,” he said. “He was more than happy to come back and we’re glad to have him back.

“He thinks there is some unfinished business and wants to bring another championship back to Osoyoos in the very near future and that’s obviously my goal as well.”

This is the third two-year contract Law has signed since coming to Osoyoos.

Law not only is a proven winner, but he’s exceptionally dedicated, said Bedard.

“He’s a very good recruiter and players like to play for him and he’s won a championship and led the team to three conference finals in four years,” he said. “It just made a lot of sense to have him return.

“He’s always out and about looking for new talent and trying to bring new talent to our team. Some people don’t’ realize all the hard work it takes to produce a winning hockey team and Ken is a tireless worker.”

The working relationship between he and Law is outstanding, said Bedard.

“We have a really good relationship and there is a lot of mutual respect,” he said. “If we have any issues, we sit down and talk about them and resolve them.

“There is great open communication and that’s all I can ask for as the owner. I let Ken run the hockey side of things and I run the business side and it has worked out very well for four years.”

The spring prospects camp held a couple of weeks ago attracted almost 100 players to town and many of them will be vying for spots when training camp opens in August, said Bedard.

With a strong core of veteran players expected to return, Bedard believes the Coyotes will again be contenders next year.

KEITH LACEY

Osoyoos Times