The Victoria Royals announced on Monday that they have parted ways with their long-time head coach, Dan Price.
“We would like to thank Dan for his contributions to the hockey club and the city of Victoria over the last seven years,” said Vice President of Hockey Operations Joey Poljanowski in a press release.
“Dan is above all else, an outstanding individual and hockey mind who has shown a true dedication to this team and community, we wish him all the best.”
After serving as an assistant on the Royals’ coaching staff in 2016-17, Price was promoted to head coach in 2017-18 and held the role for six full seasons.
His dismissal was somewhat surprising, given the Royals’ excellent performance in October following an abysmal 0-4-0-0 start to the season.
Zooming out, however, it isn’t all that surprising. Price was tasked with the challenge of leading a diminishing roster through COVID, and the Royals’ 43-99-12-4 record over the past three seasons paints a pretty clear picture of the difficulties the team and fans have endured.
This move is also unsurprising given the Royals’ front office retooling over the summer.
At some point, it was expected that Poljanowki and Associate GM Jake Heisinger would continue to put their stamp on the team, and that process took another step forward today.
“In order to take the next steps now and in the future, as we transition deeper into our player development model, we are bringing in a fresh voice to lead our program,” said Heisinger.
“We thank Dan for his commitment to the organization and wish him well.”
James Patrick coming in as new Royals head coach
Former NHL defenceman James Patrick will be coming to Victoria as the new head coach, taking over his second WHL franchise after leading the Winnipeg/Kootenay Ice over the past six years.
He was also an assistant coach in the NHL for the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars for 11 years from 2006-07 to 2016-17.
Patrick would know current Royals Associate GM Jake Heisinger well, as the two helped turn around a struggling Kootenay/Winnipeg Ice franchise.
Heisinger was the VP of Hockey Operations and Assistant GM for the Ice from 2020-21 through last season, after serving in a variety of other roles in the franchise the three years prior.
The Ice have been a dominant force in the WHL of late, posting a preposterous 110-20-4-2 record over the past two seasons. But they fell short in the finals last season at the hands of the Seattle Thunderbirds.
More important, from the Royals point of view, is that Patrick was there for the down years too. He helped the team turn its crop of highly skilled draft picks into winners, and was named the WHL coach of the year for the 2021-22 season.
Patrick, a veteran of over 1280 NHL games, first took over the Ice (then still in Kootenay) back in 2017-18, and endured coaching a team that completely bottomed out the following season, posting a paltry 13-45-10 record.
Patrick then brought the young talent along, without a doubt drawing on the experience and best practices only a 21 year NHL career can teach you.
While the WHL is a league where wins and losses matter, it is also a development league, and showing you can create an environment that develops future pros is critical when trying to sign and acquire talent.
Patrick comes to Victoria highly regarded in that department.
The Ice were ultimately able to turn young talent into stars, boasting an impressive list of first round NHL draft picks, including Conor Geekie (Arizona), Matthew Savoie (Buffalo), Zach Benson (Buffalo), and Carson Lambos (Minnesota).
“We are very excited to have James lead our program,” Poljanowski said in a press release.
“He brings a winning pedigree and has had tremendous success in developing both strong organizational cultures and future NHL players.”
The Royals are just beginning what they hope to be a long and prosperous upward cycle.
And though Patrick appears to be one of the final pieces for the Royals from a staffing point of view, make no mistake about it:
The journey is just beginning.
Victoria Royals fans don’t have to wait long to see the new chapter unfold as the Royals take on the Red Deer Rebels Tuesday night at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre.
