Hulton departs Islanders

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The era of Hulton Hockey in Charlottetown is over.

The Charlottetown Islanders announced Thursday that head coach and general manager Jim Hulton is leaving the organization "to pursue new opportunities."

Hulton has been behind the Islanders bench since the 2015-16 season, playing a major role in turning Charlottetown into a credible junior hockey franchise following the woeful PEI Rocket days.

Under Hulton, the Islanders reached the third round of the QMJHL playoffs four times and played in the 2022 league final, losing to the Shawinigan Cataractes.

He was named QMJHL coach of the year in 2021 and 2022. He was also named CHL coach of the year in 2022.

A letter to Charlottetown from Coach Hulton pic.twitter.com/qlU3JHxeIG

— Charlottetown Islanders (@IslandersHKY) May 28, 2026

“Jim Hulton has been the face of our franchise for over a decade,” said Charlottetown Islanders board chair Dave Trainor in a news release. “His professionalism, leadership, and passion for the game helped elevate this organization. More importantly, Jim became a true pillar in our community and represented our franchise with tremendous class every single day. We are incredibly thankful for everything Jim has done for the Charlottetown Islanders and we wish him, Kristina, Jimmy & Lucas nothing but the best as he explores new opportunities.”

The Islanders always played a defensively strong, gritty style under Hulton. As the team's release notes, "‘Hulton Hockey’ became known for a relentless compete level, resilience, and commitment to playing for one another."

This could really change the way the Islanders play and how they are built. Under Hulton, it seemed like the team was in need of high end scoring nearly every season – maybe the next era of Charlottetown hockey could be built around offensive players, who knows. The team also never really went into traditional rebuild cycles, something they'll perhaps look at now – especially considering the team was good plenty of times but never quite great enough to win a league title.

According to the Islanders, they "will start the process to fill the vacancy."

Adding some complexity to this is the timing. The QMJHL Entry Draft is next week in Halifax.