OLIVER PAIPOONGE -- The Kam River Fighting Walleye have hired former Red Lake Miners bench boss Geoff Walker to be their new coach.
The move comes less than two weeks after the team fired Matt Valley, who led the team to last year's final and was in first place at the time of his dismissal, stating they were in need of a full-time coach.
Walker, a former AHL player who spent 10 years in the pros, led the Miners to the SIJHL championship in 2019-20, earning the team an automatic berth at the expanded 10-team Centennial Cup.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Walleye organization,” Walker said in a release issued by the team.
“It’s the top club in the SIJHL, on and off the ice in my opinion, and something I have wanted to be a part of for a while now. Kevin and crew run a family oriented club and I’ve seen it first-hand already when they helped guide me through the logistics of getting from Sweden to Thunder Bay.
"My two goals in coaching are to develop these young men both on and off the ice, and to win a championship. Our main focus is to be the SIJHL representative in Portage in the spring.".
He finished with a 61-26-9 record over his three seasons behind the bench in Red Lake, leaving for a post in Europe after last season.
Walker, 34, inherits a team sitting atop the SIJHL standings at 13-4-1.
Walker will make his debut on Friday when the Fighting Walleye host Wisconsin.
