The Chilliwack Chiefs has long been regarded as one of the BCHL’s premier organizations and for returning coach Brad Rihela, this feeling extends beyond just those wearing the uniform.
“Chilliwack is home for my family,” said Rihela, whose return to the team was announced last week. “This just made perfect sense.
“The players, staff, ownership and management – everybody is just on the same page.”
The longtime Chiefs bench boss has stepped into the role of associate coach and director of hockey development ahead of the upcoming season.
Rihela first joined the team as an assistant coach in the 2018/2019 regular season, before quickly being promoted to the role of associate coach and assistant general manager for the following campaign.
He operated in this role for the following four seasons, before being offered the opportunity to join the Lloydminster Bobcats of the AJHL as their head coach.
“I was looking at taking on a new challenge,” said Rihela. “I’d gone through the process of talking with a couple of programs.
“Ultimately we settled on going to Lloydminster.”
Rihela enjoyed what was a successful year with the team. He led the Bobcats – coming off of a losing season – to a 33-win campaign that ultimately saw them finish with their most regular-season points in almost a decade. The team finished second in the league standings before a premature playoff elimination in the divisional quarter-final.
Despite the disappointing ending, Rihela looks back fondly on his time with the organization.
“It was another really good hockey town – a good sports community,” he said. “The players were extremely hard-working and my assistant coaches…it was great working with them.
“The fans were amazing and I was really fortunate. It was a really good experience on the hockey side.”
Although Rihela considers the experience a positive one, there were bigger things than hockey he took into consideration when deciding to return to Chilliwack.
“It was a situation where I had to make a decision that was right for my family,” he said. “Ultimately this was the direction we decided to go in.”
But Rihela plans on bringing much of what he learned during his time with the Bobcats back to Chilliwack. Stepping into his new role as head of hockey development for the team, he plans on rebranding the development program as a whole.
The summer development program overseen by Brad is set to kick-off on July 2 and is not just open to Chiefs team members, with players of all skill levels welcome to participate. He also hinted at providing more development opportunities in-season, through the spring and into the summer.
“It’s a combination of providing development opportunities here locally, but also looking to recruit the next wave of Chilliwack Chiefs,” said Rihela. “At the end of the day, our main focus is doing everything we can to support hockey development here at Chilliwack.”
“That’s by far the most important thing.”