‘A great day to be a Raider’: Raiders promote Jeff Truitt to head coach

By Rob Mahon

Just over a week after former head coach Marc Habscheid announced he was leaving the WHL team, the Prince Albert Raiders have officially introduced his replacement.

As it turned out, they didn’t have to look too far for a man with all the right qualifications.

Jeff Truitt was named the new head coach during a media conference Friday morning.

Truitt had served as an assistant on the team for the past four seasons, including its championship year in 2018-19.

“I’m really excited for it,” said Truitt. “It’s always something that you look forward to do. I’ve been an assistant coach a long time, but I’ve also had head-coaching experience. Now it’s just a matter of stepping up your game a little bit.”

Truitt’s resume is lengthy and impressive. He’s been an assistant coach in the WHL in 18 different seasons, winning a WHL championship not only with the Raiders but with the Kelowna Rockets in 2004.

He won a Memorial Cup with the Rockets as well, then took over as their head coach and won a WHL championship again in 2004-05.

“Talk about a guy overqualified in his position,” said Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt. “Jeff comes to work every day to try and get a little bit better every day and certainly you see that in how our players develop, especially those guys directly under his care.”

In addition to his experience in the WHL, Truitt has served as both an assistant coach and a head coach in the AHL and as a video coach with Canada’s world junior teams in 2003-04 and 2004-05, the latter of which won a gold medal.

He also was an assistant coach at the Ivan Hlinka tournament and the world under-18 championship in 2006-07.

“All of that together — he’s had my job as well — to me, it’s very seamless for everyone involved,” said Hunt. “We’re very excited about it.”

The Raiders could have as many as 17 returning players on next year’s roster who’ve worked with Truitt in the past, and several of their prospects have worked with him as well. That familiarity will help ease the transition for both the players and the coach.

“You know the character, you know the guys (and) you’ve got the relationship with them,” Truitt said. “They know me, so there’s a certain level of comfort there. But now comes the adjustment of you’re that voice now and you setting the trail.”

As for the season ahead, with training camp still over a month away, it’s a little early to make predictions on the makeup of the team. But having worked with both the returning players and the prospects, Truitt has some excitement for the group he’ll get to work with.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing some of the younger guys,” said Truitt. “You don’t want to name names all the time, but we got a glimpse of Cole Peardon and Ryder Ritchie last year along with a couple of other guys last year. It does get you excited. Now it’s for keeps.”

Truitt opened the media conference by thanking Habscheid for his guidance throughout the years and thanking the organization for its faith in him.

“I know there are a lot of great quality guys out there looking for head-coaching jobs,” Truitt said. “But it’s really something special when they think enough of you, from the organization, to promote you.”