Blades head coach to take AHL bench boss position in Stockton

Mitch Love is heading south.

Love, who has been the head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades since the 2018-19 season, has accepted a job with the Calgary Flames’ AHL affiliate, the Stockton Heat.

“I know the team (in Saskatoon) is very well positioned for the upcoming season and the years ahead. Leaving Saskatoon was a difficult decision but I’m very grateful to the Calgary Flames organization for giving me this opportunity,” Love said in a media release from the Blades on Monday.

The team said in its release the search for a new head coach is already underway. Associate coach Ryan Marsh and goaltending coach Jeff Harvey will continue in their roles with the team, but the Blades are also looking for an additional assistant coach come the 2021-22 season.

Love spent time with Team Canada in recent years in international play. He was an assistant coach with the last two world junior teams, and won a gold medal with Canada’s under-18 team at the 2018 Hlinka-Gretzky Cup.

The Blades went 95-44-12-4 through Love’s three seasons at the helm. Most recently, Love guided the Blades to a second-place finish in the East Division in 2021, going 16-5-2-1 in the WHL’s hub in Regina.