KEARNEY, Neb. – Hours before the final weekend of the regular season, Tri-City Storm head coach and general manager Jim Hulton has agreed in principle to an extension which will keep him at the helm through next season. Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Hulton, 45, took over on Nov. 19, 15 games into the regular season. In January, the general manager made the decision to make trades to position the franchise better for the future.
“I’m very happy to have the opportunity to come back and hopefully finish the job,” Hulton said. “We started a big task at the trade deadline and put a lot of stock in our team moving forward. To have the opportunity to come back and see that to fruition is something that I’m very excited about.”
Tri-City was 4-9-2 (.333) when Hulton came in, replacing Josh Hauge. The Storm have gone 17-25-1 (.407) under his guidance, for an overall record of 21-34-3 (.388). Currently tied with Des Moines for sixth in the Western Conference, Tri-City has been eliminated from playoff contention.
“I think all the pieces are in place for this organization to have success,” Hulton said. “I think we have a terrific ownership group that supports us in every way possible, we have a great office staff here with the Storm and there’s continuity in the coaching staff.”
The bench boss also said that his assistant coach JB Bittner, who was hired in June, will be returning by his side.
“I’m very comfortable with JB,” Hulton said. “He’s more than an assistant coach to me, he’s a coaching and management partner and we think we’ve solidified our scouting staff. Now we have to put the on-ice product there and that’s the enjoyable part from a coach’s standpoint. We think we’ve aligned ourselves in a spot where we can do these things and hopefully have a lot more success on the ice.”
Hulton was brought in to replace Josh Hauge, and has coaching experience at many levels, both amateur and professional. Before coming to Kearney, he was with the Florida Panthers as an Assistant Coach in the National Hockey League from 2008-2011.
A Kingston, Ont. native, Hulton also served as a head coach in the OHL for 10 seasons with the Mississauga IceDogs, Belleville Bulls, Kingston Frontenacs and Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors.
The news comes on the five-year anniversary of the announcement that Mr. Kirk Brooks acquired the franchise back in 2009. In each year since Brooks came on board, including the current season, attendance at the Viaero Event Center has increased.
Tri-City will head to Des Moines and drop the puck on their final weekend of the regular season at 7:05 p.m. on Friday night.
The Storm will then return home to close the season in Kearney at the Viaero Event Center against the Lincoln Stars. The final home game of the 2013-14 season will get underway on Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.