Ian Herbers Leaves Head Coach Position of Milwaukee Admirals

[chilly666]

Milwaukee, WI --The Milwaukee Admirals announced today that Ian Herbers is leaving the organization to become the head coach at his alma mater, the University of Alberta in Canada.

Herbers started the season as the Admirals assistant coach under Kirk Muller, but was named the 19th head coach in franchise history on November 28 when Muller left to coach the Carolina Hurricanes. Herbers guided the team to a 30-23-2-4 record the rest of the season and helped the team to a second place finish in the AHL’s Midwest Division. The Ads qualified for the playoffs for a league best 10th season in a row, where they fell to the Abbotsford Heat in the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

“We would like to thank Ian for his time with the organization; he stepped up when we lost Kirk Muller early in the season and performed admirably,” Predators Assistant General Manager and Milwaukee General Manager Paul Fenton said. “We wish him success as he returns to his roots.

The search for the next head coach of the Milwaukee Admirals begins immediately. Each of the last six coaches we’ve hired have moved on to the NHL or University coaching ranks, so we have a solid track record of hiring and cultivating coaches, and know that the Milwaukee position is attractive to coaches.”

Herbers spent his first two seasons in Milwaukee as the assistant to Lane Lambert. During that time the Admirals accumulated a 85-52-8-15 record, two playoff berths, and a Western Conference regular season title in 2009-10.

Currently five former Admirals coaches find themselves behind the bench in the National Hockey League. Muller (Carolina Hurricanes), Claude Noel (Winnipeg Jets), and Todd Richards (Columbus Blue Jackets) are all head coaches, while Peter Horachek is Nashville’s associate coach and Lambert is the Predators assistant coach.