The Calgary Flames may not have changed much on the ice this season, but the front office has undergone a number of changes in recent months.
With the promotions of Craig Conroy to general manager and Ryan Huska to head coach, as well as many others, there were still a few remaining holes that needed to be filled as well.
Although some names had been rumored for a few months, the Flames formally announced on Friday a number of additions to the staff that will be key for the organization moving forward.
The Scouts
There were a total of 12 hires announced on Friday, half of which came in the scouting department:
- Kerry Huffman (Pro Scout)
- Brad Richardson (Pro Scout)
- Billy Powers (Pro Scout)
- Denis Grebeshkov (Amateur Scout)
- Pierre Lamoureaux (U.S. College Scout)
- Peter Loubardias (Reserve List Scout)
We previously had reported on both Kerry Huffman and Brad Richardson joining the scouting department about a month ago, feel free to read up on both in the link, but the rest of the additions may actually look somewhat familiar to Flames fans.
Billy Powers has actually been with the organization since 2017-18 in an amateur scouting role, and is now being promoted to a professional scout.
Denis Grebeshkov had an extensive professional hockey career that took him to the NHL, AHL, KHL, and international tournaments. His last season in the NHL was with the Edmonton Oilers in 2013-14 where he played in seven games before moving into a few hockey operations roles. The former professional defensemen was recently an assistant coach with the Loko Yaroslavl in the MHL and now joins the team as an amateur scout.
Pierre Lamoureaux’s name may seem somewhat familiar to those who followed the team for a while, as he was an amateur scout with the team for one season in 2014-15 before moving between a few roles in the USHL and WHL as a coach and scout. His last credit was with the Fargo Force of the USHL in 2020-21 as a head coach. His role as a US College Scout makes a wealth of sense.
The final name will be a welcome sign for all Flames fans as Peter Loubardias joins the team as a reserve list scout. You know Loubardias’ voice well as the color commentator on the Fan960, but he actually was a scout with the Red Deer Rebels in 2011-12. It’s great to see him back with the Flames in a different capacity.
Organizational depth
The remaining six hires spread across the rest of the hockey operations:
- Sandi Kirkland (Executive Assistant to the President of Hockey Operations and General Manager)
- Rachel Sproule (Executive Assistant to Hockey Operations)
- Caylin Relkoff (Assistant Strength Coach)
- Zach McClean (Development Strength Coach)
- Hendrix Hanes (Development and Data Scientist)
- Andrew Doty (Video Coordinator)
Some interesting names here that stick out. Caylin Relkoff was recently the head strength and conditioning coach for the San Diego Gulls of the AHL, and Hendrix Hanes was a video coach with the Kitchener Rangers. Andrew Doty was also with the Henderson Silver Knights organization from 2020-21, where he was the video coach and team manager.
Welcome to the C of Red everyone!
