The Fort McMurray Oil Barons have signed head coach and general manager Gord Thibodeau to a 3-year contract extension, through the 2014-15 season.
“I was very pleased,” said Thibodeau. “Obviously it’s something we’ve been working on for a little bit here; you want to show stability in the organization; that’s what parents and recruits want.”
“We’re just glad to have made an agreement,” said team president Len Clarke. “I think we’ve both been good for each other; as an organization and as a coach.”
Thibodeau has coached the Oil Barons for nine seasons; eight of them featuring winning records, six appearances in the league finals, and one league championship in 2006.
The MOB has gone 335-161-49 (.660) in the regular season under Thibodeau’s tenure.
Clarke says the signing is key, given new limits on veteran players passed at the most recent league meeting.
“Especially with the new rule changes, with all the new young kids that are coming in,” said Clarke, “who better than Gord Thibodeau to teach them?”
Thibodeau holds the active record for games coached in the AJHL; only former Calgary Canucks coach Don Phelps has a longer resume.
“I’ve loved my time there,” said the St. Albert native. “I love the organization, and I feel strongly about what we’re doing.”
Thibodeau was entering the final year of a previous three-year extension.
The team also announced that associate coach and assistant general manager Tom Keca had been re-signed to return to the staff for another season, though with reduced travel.
Thibodeau expects to hire a second assistant over the next two months who will travel with the team.
Published June 9, 2012
