Kirkland Lake Goldminers Team President Derek Callahan announced today, October 12th, that the Kirkland Lake Goldminers have relieved Kyle Smart of his duties as head coach and general manager.
Smart has served as head coach and general manager of the team since early 2019. The search for the next head coach of the Kirkland Lake Goldminers will begin immediately.
“Today with the unanimous support of the Executive Committee of the Goldminers, Kyle Smart has been relieved of his Head Coach and General Manager duties.” said Callahan. “After 2 plus years working with Kyle, this was an extremely difficult decision. I want to thank and acknowledge Kyle for all his work and success with the Goldminer organization. We are appreciative of Kyle both professionally and personally.
After taking some time to fully digest where we stand currently in the Eastern Conference as well as in the entire NOJHL, we felt that the direction of our team for both this season and beyond would benefit from a new voice.
“Throughout his time here, Kyle’s deep passion for the game and pride he showed in representing this franchise was undeniable.” Callahan went on to say.
Kyle will stay on with the club, in an advisory role to the Hockey Operations department.
‘I have the utmost confidence in Barry Ferguson and club executive committee to conduct a thorough search to identify the best candidate that is going to help our team reach its full potential.’ said Callahan
Rick Witty will assume control of the bench effective immediately and his efforts will be supplemented with the addition of one or two associate coaches. These announcements will be made in the near future.
