Crickard named Sea Dogs head coach

CHL

Travis Crickard has been named head coach of the Saint John Sea Dogs.

The St. John's native has been an assistant coach with the Sea Dogs since last November, helping the team win the Memorial Cup in June.

“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity general manager Trevor Georgie and owner Scott McCain have given me to be Saint John’s head coach,” Crickard said in a news release. “Coming off our Memorial Cup run I look forward to building upon and honouring the Sea Dogs’ success by developing the next wave of Sea Dogs athletes on the ice and young men off the ice. I also endeavour to create a lasting legacy as a community-focused coach.”

This will be Crickard's first stint as a head coach at the Canadian Hockey League level. His previous work also includes stints as an assistant coach with the OHL's Ottawa 67's and WHL's Kelowna Rockets. The Rockets won the WHL title in 2015 before falling in the Memorial Cup final to the Oshawa Generals.

“Being a head coach in the CHL is something I dreamed about since I was 18 years old,” said Crickard. “Today, that dream has been realized and I have many people to thank from this past season for their support toward this achievement and transition into the head coach role. My family and I are really excited about staying in Saint John where we feel at home. In the next few weeks, we will hire new assistant coaches and welcome many new faces and returning veterans to training camp. We look forward to icing a team that the fans can be proud of."

The move comes as no surprise after Georgie said he was leaning towards hiring an internal candidate as the squad's next head coach. Gardiner MacDougall has returned to his role with the UNB Reds and assistant Stefan Legein has moved on to the WHL's Spokane Chiefs.

With Crickard promoted and Legein no longer with the team, the Sea Dogs have two assistant coach vacancies. Saint John begins training camp on Monday, Aug. 15.

The Sea Dogs have had a carousel of head coaches since the 2019-20 season, including Josh Dixon, Jeff Cowan, Greg Gilbert, Gordie Dwyer, MacDougall and now Crickard. It will be interesting to see what Crickard can do with a squad that's going to take a big step backwards before returning to contention in a few years.

Crickard is the 11th head coach in Sea Dogs franchise history.