By Derek Harper
It’s a new week in the major junior hockey offseason and the news keeps coming. This time from the WHL’s defending Western Conference champion, Portland Winterhawks as the roles within their head leadership and coaching staff change.
Mike Johnston has signed a four-year extension to remain the President and General Manager. He’ll step aside as head coach with that role going to longtime assistant Kyle Gustafson.
Johnston spent 13 years as Portland’s head coach, becoming only the 11th coach in Western Hockey League (WHL) history to surpass 500 wins while amassing one of the highest overall winning percentages with an overall WHL coaching record of 544-249-33-31.
Under Johnston’s leadership, the Winterhawks have appeared in five WHL Finals appearances, including a championship in 2013. He also assisted 46 Winterhawks players to sign NHL contracts and countless members of his hockey operations staff have moved on to similar positions in the NHL.
In a press release by the team, Johnston felt it was time to step away from coaching to focus more on the development of their players.
“At this time, I felt it was important to turn my focus to the overall program which includes assembling a championship team along with preparing our players for professional hockey and life after hockey,” Johnston said of the change.
He also said he’ll continue to monitor the development plan for each individual and the execution of that plan.
” We strive to be the best development program in North America and that will continue to be our goal,” Johnston said.
He was very confident that Gustafson would make a smooth transition into the role of head coach.
“He is one of the brighter young minds in the game,” Johnston said.
Gustafson has been an assistant for Portland for 20 of the last 21 seasons. He only recently left for one season to be a member of the Vancouver Canucks’ staff under another former Winterhawks head assistant, Travis Green.
He was with the Canucks during the 2020-21 season before returning to Portland in the fall of 2022, shortly after the Canucks made changes to their coaching staff including letting Green go. Green has since landed in Ottawa as the new head coach of the Senators.
Gustafson served as the team’s assistant coach from 2003 to 2016 before getting promoted to associate coach ahead of the 2017-18 season. The 43-year-old has also held the title of Assistant General Manager since the 2018-19 season.
He earned his first win filling in as head coach of the Winterhawks on January 17, 2020, in a 5-3 victory over the Spokane Chiefs when Johnston was away.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be named head coach of the Portland Winterhawks,” Gustafson said.
He grew up in Portland and followed the team for years before joining the organization.
“I understand the responsibility that comes along with this position, and I look forward to the challenge,” Gustafson said. “I’m excited for the opportunity to continue coaching players I have built relationships with as well as the new players arriving this fall.”
The Spokane Chiefs also signed a new head coach with the addition of Brad Lauer, who was previously coach of the year in 2020. During his previous time in the WHL, he was the league’s all-time leader in winning percentage. He’ll be the Chiefs’ 16th head coach in franchise history.
He returns to the WHL after a two-year stint in professional hockey with the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Winnipeg Jets as an assistant coach. Prior to that, during his WHL tenure, he won a championship with the Edmonton Oil Kings in 2021-22.
Under Lauer, the Oil Kings posted a 154-46-13-10 record highlighted by a historic 2021-22 season, which set new franchise records for longest win-streak in a single season (14 games) and best winning percentage (.765). Also, during his time with the Oil Kings, the franchise won the Central Division title in all four seasons.
There will now be three new head coaches in the WHL’s US Division this next season after Wenatchee’s announcement of hiring Don Nachbaur.
Stephen Heisler 