THUNDER BAY – The Kam River Fighting Walleye have their first coach.
The fledgling Superior International Junior Hockey League team on Tuesday named former Thunder Bay North Stars and coach in the Thunder Bay Kings organization Matt Valley to take the inaugural coaching reins of the team, which is set to begin play in the 2020-21 campaign.
Valley, who spent two seasons in the SIJHL from 2009 to 2011, said it’s an honour to be chosen, knowing team ownership fielded interest from at least 30 different potential coaches before narrowing it down to him.
It feels great to be seen as someone to build an organization around, to build a foundation and to leave a mark on hockey in his home town at the Junior A level.
“It was just something to me that was impossible to pass up,” Valley said. “It was a dream job come true, as a young head coach.”
Valley, who turns 30 next month, has been with the Kings as a coach since 2018, following four years as a player at Wisconsin’s Northland College.
He said he’s got a firm vision for the Fighting Walleye moving forward, including a couple of championship rings, he hopes, but for now plans to take things day by day as he ramps up for the team’s first SIJHL season.
“I don’t want to get too ahead of myself. Obviously we have a lot of work to do. For one, it’ll be a lot of blood, sweat, tears and true dedication, true caring, true relationship building with players – understanding that not everyone’s on their game that day,” Valley said.
“One thing I can say is that my team will compete. We might not be the most talented team out of the gates. We might not win a championship their first year, but they will give it everything they’ve got, much like the minor midget team I coached this year.”
General manager Kevin McCallum said they had plenty of interest in the position, but after tossing names around, it kept coming back to Valley, who played for McCallum in 2009-10 with the K&A Wolverines, a former SIJHL franchise.
“It was definitely Matt’s passion and shared vision with our ownership group about developing junior hockey players moving forward,” McCallum said.
“We wanted a younger guy who identified he wanted to be a head coach in college or junior hockey, someone who needed to gain experience in the SIJHL, as I believe it’s a developmental league, not only for players but for coaches and staff as well.”
Valley already has his first four players. Graduating Kings defenceman Trystan Goodman and forward Bryce Cataldo have signed letters of intent to play for the Fighting Walleye next season, while veterans Jayden Mrakic, who spent parts of the past two seasons with the Thunder Bay North Stars, and Albertan Carson Gorst also intend to suit up for Kam River in 2020-21.
