The Jets made the hiring of Rick Bowness official back on July 3rd. He confirmed in his media availability the following day that Scott Arniel would be joining his staff as an associate coach. The expectation was that goalie coach Wade Flaherty would be brought back before they had even hired the new head coach and Bowness also confirmed this on the 4th. Then on July 21st the team announced the rounding out of the staff with the additions of Brad Lauer (who had been with the Oil Kings of the WHL) and Marty Johnston (Moose assistant coach in AHL).
But there wasn’t any clarity as to what the roles these coaches would have with Winnipeg. We had both of the assistant coaches (watch chat with Marty Johnson here and Brad Lauer here) on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show in July but neither went into specifics about their roles with the club.
The Young Stars rookie tournament is happening in BC and Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff is in attendance as per a Q&A he did with The Athletic. One of the most interesting tidbits from the conversation was his defining the roles of the associate and assistant coaches in Winnipeg.
He indicated:
Arniel – PK and defence
Lauer – PP and forwards
Johnston – “eye in the sky”
Flaherty – goalies.
You can read the full Q&A here.
The “eye in the sky” for Marty Johnston’s portfolio seems somewhat ambiguous but the other three have more clearly defined roles. He does add that it will include “video and tactical assistance”.
