Brad Tesink is no longer the interim head coach of the Prince George Spruce Kings.
He shed the interim tag when he signed a two-year contract to remain the team’s bench boss, a job he took over Nov. 25 when Alex Evin was relieved of his duties.
Tesink guided the Spruce Kings into the 2025 BCHL playoffs after they put together a 17-13-2-1 record to finish the season. The Spruce Kings then took the first-place Chilliwack Chiefs to seven games in the Coastal Conference opening playoff round before the Chiefs eliminated them on April 15.
"Brad was tasked with a difficult situation when he took on the interim head coach role midseason,” said Kings general manager Mike Hawes. “Over the next few months, I watched closely and analyzed every on-ice and off-ice aspect of how he handled the group and staff. Early in the process I was able to see that he affected a lot of positive changes within our athletes, staff and the group. The players responded very well to him.
“Our on-ice play improved and continued to get better and better each day. By the end of the process I was more than convinced that Brad was the perfect head coach to lead our team into the future. I'm thrilled to remove the interim tag and to promote Brad to the head coach position. I look forward to working closely with him to continue to move our organization forward.”
Tesink, a 36-year-old native of Saint John, N.B., joined the Spruce Kings as an associate coach on Oct. 31, 2022, after two seasons with the South Shore Lumberjacks of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. The former QMJHL defenceman also coached Team New Brunswick in the 2023 Canada Winter Games.
“I’d like to thank Mike Hawes, (team president) David Keough, and the rest of the board for their continued support,” said Tesink. “I’m excited to lead such a world-class organization and look forward to helping develop the next generation of Spruce Kings players on and off the ice. Prince George has an excellent sense of community and hockey history, and I am fortunate to be a part of that.”
The Spruce Kings also announced Brandon Manning has taken on a larger role as assistant coach and director of hockey camps.
The 34-year-old Prince George native served the past two seasons as the Kings’ skills and development coach and stepping up his role with the team as they made their playoff push. Manning will continue to work with the players on their skills and there be for team practices and home games but won’t be available for all road trips so he can remain close to his young family in Prince George.
“When you get a guy like Brandon who’s a Spruce Kings alum, a local guy and has the vast amount of playing experience that he has it’s a no-brainer when somebody like that wants to get involved, so from that standpoint I’m thrilled to be bringing Brandon into a more prominent role next year,” said Hawes.
“He’s going to make a way larger commitment than what he was able to make this year and we’ll see where it goes. He really stepped it up at the end because he was enjoying it so much and he went on the road with the team in the playoffs and was on the bench and I think that really lit a fire under him. I know he really enjoyed working with the staff and the players.”
The former NHL defenceman who played for Philadelphia, Chicago and Edmonton before moving to Europe to play in Germany and Sweden, has 672 games on his professional hockey resume, from 2011-24.
He signed a one-year deal.
“I'm excited to take on a bigger role with the Spruce Kings next season,” said Manning. “Thanks to Mike and Brad for the opportunity as I continue to learn and grow. I'm looking forward to working with Brad and learning from him as I jump into coaching.
“I enjoyed working with our players last season on a limited basis and can't wait to get going next year, helping build a competitive team and passing on my knowledge of the game to help our players pursue the next step in their careers.”
Manning will continue to work with minor hockey players during the season in development camps and will also run the team’s three-week hockey school in August.
“Our Spruce Kings development ice took a more individual approach last season,” Manning said. “I'm looking forward to building on that next year to give our local kids an opportunity to improve their hockey skills, get to know our Spruce Kings players and have fun.”
Hawes said associate coach Taylor Harnett remains with the team but is actively pursuing a head coaching position elsewhere in the hockey world. The Kings hired Harnett as their associate on Dec. 9, after he was released from the Amarillo Wranglers of the North American Hockey League. Prior to that he was head coach and general manager for seven seasons (2017-24) with the Waywayseecappo Wolverines of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
“He has a wealth of head coaching experience so he is exploring other options and if that happens then we will be looking to add another full-tie associate coach at that time,” said Hawes.
This weekend at Kopar Memorial Arena the Spruce Kings are hosting their annual Prospects Camp for players born between 2006 and 2009 this weekend while simultaneously staging a Futures Camp for players in the 2010 and 2011 birth years. That starts Friday morning.
Sixty players are registered for the Prospects Camp and 40 are involved in the Futures Camp.
