Former Raiders head coach Marc Habscheid stepped down this past summer and moved to Austria to coach in the professional ranks. (Prince Albert Raiders/Twitter)

By Rob Mahon

YIR Habscheid Resigns

Year In Review: Habscheid resigns as Raiders coach; Truitt takes over

Dec 23, 2022 | 5:00 PM

As 2022 draws to a close, paNOW is taking a look back on the most important and impactful stories of the year, as selected by our reporters and editorial staff.

The offseason invariably brings big changes to any junior hockey team as players graduate and move on to either higher levels of hockey or life after the sport. For the Prince Albert Raiders, however, the 2022 offseason brought another level of change.

After seven seasons, Marc Habscheid stepped down as head coach of the Raiders in order to pursue an opportunity in the professional ranks in Europe with the ICEHL’s Pioneers Vorarlberg. He coached 440 regular season games with the Raiders.

“It’s been an emotional day, for sure,” Habscheid said back in July. “I’ve been here the longest I’ve been anywhere since I was 16, so that should speak for itself. It’s a really good place, a special place for me, lots of good memories. I’ve met lots of great people here but it’s just time. In this business, eight years is a long time.”

Habscheid’s years in Prince Albert included a championship in 2018-19 and might well have included more hardware if the pandemic had not robbed the team of two years’ worth of playoffs. The championship run naturally stood out among his fondest memories.

Arts appreciation

High School Juried Art Show moves to bigger stage

7m ago

wild rice series

From lake to plate: Chefs take pride in serving wild rice dishes

39m ago

Testimony

Forensic pathologist says murder victim died from stab wound to the heart

54m ago

“Obviously that’s pretty special, especially winning it in game seven overtime at home,” said Habscheid. “Seeing ‘Nooner’ (Dante Hanoun) and seeing guys chase him down the ice, and the fans, I remember looking up and seeing fans crying in the stands. It was great, it was a great time for the city.”

With Habscheid’s departure, the Raiders didn’t have to look too far to find a replacement. Jeff Truitt, who was serving as Habscheid’s assistant at the time and had done so during the championship year, was promoted to head coach.

“I know there are a lot of great quality guys out there looking for head coaching jobs,” Truitt said. “But it’s really something special when they think enough of you, from the organization, to promote you.”

Promoting Truitt still left the Raiders with a vacancy in their coaching ranks, however, as now they needed an assistant coach to fill Truitt’s previous role. To that end, they reached out to long-time professional defenseman Keaton Ellerby.

“It happened really quickly,” Ellerby said. “I was kind of debating whether to go back overseas and play another year, and then Jeff (Truitt) called me and I did a couple of interviews with him and talked to Curtis (Hunt). It kind of all came together quite fast, within about a week.”

Habscheid finished his coaching career with the Raiders with a record of 218-171-51.

—-

rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP

by Rob Mahon

Year In Review: Habscheid resigns as Raiders coach; Truitt takes over

What's Trending