One of the most successful coaches in WHL history is back behind the bench.
The Red Deer Rebels have hired Wymark's Marc Habscheid as their new head coach.
This is Habsheid's return to the WHL after leaving the Prince Albert Raiders in 2022 for a job in Austria.
"Did I think I'd be sitting here two years ago? Not a chance." Habscheid said at a media availability. "A 15-month-old little granddaughter in Calgary has a lot of things to say too. You have to enjoy what you do. For me, what I missed in Europe was the people. We had some success in Prince Albert, but we had so much fun."
Habscheid is 6th in WHL history with 582 wins after stints in Kamloops, Kelowna, Chilliwack/Victoria, and Prince Albert.
He also has 75 playoff wins while leading teams to WHL championships in 2003 and 2019.
"His longevity and the success he's had," said Rebels Owner and General Manager Brent Sutter. "The knowledge of the game. We think the game a lot alike. We've coached against each other. One thing that always stuck out with me when I kept going back to Habby was I knew when I had to coach against him that his teams were going to be well prepared. I always respected the way he coached."
This will be the first time Habscheid gets to work with the legendary Sutter family in any capacity.
"I probably break the world record because at my age, I'm probably the only hockey player and coach that has never played with or coached a Sutter," Habscheid joked. "We come from kind of the same upbringing. Both farm kids and we're one year apart. We played against each other a lot and coached against each other a lot. Now I'm on the other side."
Habscheid also coached Kelowna to a Memorial Cup win in 2004.
He is a two-time Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy winner as WHL Coach of the Year.
Habscheid's playing career included 276 points over 148 WHL games with Saskatoon and Kamloops. he also suited up for 345 NHL games with Edmonton, Minnesota, Detroit, and Calgary.
The southwest Saskatchewan product has a distinguished international career. He both played for and coached for Canada in each of the World Junior Hockey Championship, World Hockey Championship, and Olympic Games.
Habscheid took last season off coaching in part to recover from two hip surgeries.
Red Deer's head coaching job came open on May 9th when Dave Struch stepped down for family reasons.
The Swift Current Broncos remain one of several WHL teams looking to fill coaching vacancies after they fired Taras McEwen last month.