Photo: Jen Jensen Photography
Dale Boyd
Osoyoos Times
Carter Rigby’s hockey journey, whether as a coach or a player, always seems to make a pivotal turn in Osoyoos.
The freshly appointed head coach was named to the role in December just prior to the holiday break for the Osoyoos Coyotes.
“Pretty happy to come back and coach. It is a lot of the same faces (owner) Randy (Bedard) is still there, the supporting staff around him are all the same, the billets are the same,” Rigby said. “It makes life seem a lot easier too. It doesn’t feel like I’m the new guy. It is more that you were gone for a little bit and now you are back, just in a different role. I’m pretty happy with how things are turning out and I hope to be here for a while.”
Rigby is the third person to take on the head coach position this season, with Dean Maynard parting ways with the Coyotes in November, and interim coach Grant Williams stepping in.
Behind the scenes assisting with coaching part time was Rigby, who the Coyotes announced would be stepping into the full-time head coaching job in December.
Rigby was a fan favourite when he came to the Coyotes as a 16 year old, and it was a tough call to leave the Prince George Warriors in the Western Hockey League to come to a Junior B team.
“It was tough, but I don’t think I would have got to where I was at without making that step,” Rigby said. “I didn’t have a goal for the first five games, I remember that, and I finally scored and from there it just took off.”
He ended up becoming a two-points-per-game player and moved back up to the WHL eventually landing with the Kelowna Rockets.
“It was nice to play a lot and I think (the KIJHL) is a good league for development,” Rigby said. “Leaving the Western League and going back to Junior B, everybody was in a big shock, and I took a lot of heat for it, but without doing that I would not have had the career that I did.”
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Within a week of taking on the job, the Coyotes were able to get two wins under their belts, and Rigby made a few player shuffles before the trade deadline. For a player development fee, the Coyotes were able to nab 2001-born forwards Ollie Morberg and Tyler Russell.
“Brought in some younger skilled players that helped us out,” Rigby said. “They are looking like they are going to help us out well. We’re looking to gain some points back that we lost at the start of the year. We’re now nine points back from North (Okanagan Knights) with two games in hand. So we’re looking to hunt them down and get that playoff spot.”
A student of the game, Rigby said he is a “new-style coach.”
“I’m not a yeller or screamer. If you ask any of the guys I think I’m very fair, I demand high expectations, but at the end of the day you are playing junior hockey too.”
Keeping things light around the locker room is part of his key to success with the young players, getting to know them on and off the ice.
“I think that’s anything in life, whether it be work or family or whatever it is. If you take a personal interest in the kids and what they do away from the rink, or at home, or what they did growing up, they are going to respect you and trust you a little bit more,” Rigby said. “At the end of the day if they trust you and are having fun it’s a lot easier to talk them into the systems you are trying to teach.”
The Coyotes sit at the bottom of the Bill Ohlhausen Division at 7-25-1-2. Coming off of an 6-5 overtime win against the Knights, the Coyotes head to Summerland to take on the Steam on Jan. 17, and return home to take on the 100 Mile House Wranglers at Sun Bowl Arena, at 7:35 p.m.
