Adam Maglio continues to climb the ladder as a hockey coach.
The 34-year-old is the new head coach of the Spokane Chiefs starting in the 2020-21 season, the team announced today (Sept. 1), more than a year after leading the Prince George Spruce Kings to their first-ever BCHL and regional titles.
Maglio was hired as the Chiefs’ associate coach in July 2019 after accomplishing those feats, which also saw the Kings’ go to their second national junior ‘A’ championship final.
The Nelson, B.C. product replaces Manny Viveiros as bench boss, who was hired by the Vegas Golden Knights to take the helm of their AHL franchise, the Henderson Silver Knights.
.@SpruceKings' 2019 Fred Page & Doyle Cup-winning coach Adam Maglio has been promoted by the Spokane Chiefs! After a year as an associate, the 34-year-old is the new bench boss of the WHL franchise | #CityOfPG @PGMatters https://t.co/yIAwo5ldfC
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) September 1, 2020
“I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to grow as a coach and learn the league with Manny. I’m excited for his new opportunity, which is very well deserved,” said Maglio in a Chiefs’ team release, adding he looks forward to working with players and staff to build a winning team.
“We want to be a consistent team. To be consistent, I believe it starts with our team culture, competitive level and a growth mindset collectively. We will work extremely hard as a staff to achieve these goals and ultimately develop both our players and our team game.”
According to Spokane General Manager Scott Carter, Maglio was actually a ‘very strong consideration’ for the head coaching gig after he won the Fred Page and Doyle Cups with Prince George.
“We were very excited he took our Associate Coach job and learned from Manny last season. I believe he is one of the top young coaches available and know he will follow in the footsteps of many great Chiefs coaches before him.”
Maglio was the associate coach of the Kings for two seasons before taking over head coaching duties in 2017 when Chad van Diemen decided to step down.
During his time in the northern capital, he compiled a record of 72-30-4-10 as bench boss for the red, blue and white in regular-season play with two trips to the BCHL finals.
Last year, under his and Viveiros’ leadership, Spokane finished third in the U.S. Division at 41-18-4-1 before COVID-19 cancelled the rest of the season and playoffs.
