Scott Barney went from playing his final season of professional hockey in South Korea to coaching the Humboldt Broncos in the SJHL playoffs in nearly one year's time (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff).

By Aaron Schulze

Scott Barney

Around the world to Humboldt: Scott Barney’s ascension to Broncos head coach

Jul 20, 2019 | 10:00 AM

Nearly one year ago, Scott Barney was wrapping up his final professional hockey season in South Korea.

The 40-year-old power forward from Oshawa, Ont. experienced just about everything the hockey world has to offer.

Barney’s junior career saw him begin in 1994 with the North York Rangers Junior A Hockey Team before playing four seasons of major junior with the Peterborough Petes from 1995 to 1999.

During that stretch with the Petes, he won gold for Team Canada in the U18 World Championship in 1995-96, was selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round of the 1997 National Hockey League (NHL) Draft and was named captain of the Petes for his final season.

Following a back injury which cost him three years of his career between 1999 to 2002, Barney suited up for 298 games over the course of five full season of professional hockey in North America, moving back and forth from the NHL and the American Hockey League (AHL).

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In the next 10 years from 2008 to 2018, Barney managed to play professional hockey in Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, China, and eventually South Korea.

From Anyang, South Korea to Humboldt, Sask., what made Barney make a culture shocking move?

“I turned 40,” Barney laughed. “Mentally you feel like you’re 20, but the legs don’t always tell you that some days. Guys were always pushing me towards being a coach. I didn’t know if I wanted to start at the bottom and work my way up, but then when I had the opportunity in Humboldt, I jumped at it and it’s been great.”

Barney joined the Humboldt Broncos as an assistant under head coach Nathan Oystrick for the 2018-19 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season.

It took until nearly half the season for Barney’s coaching career to quickly ascend. Despite being fourth in the SJHL in late December with a record of 21-13-2-1, Oystrick announced via Twitter that he had stepped down as the Broncos’ head coach and general manager.

Life suddenly moved fast for Barney, as he was named the interim head coach for the rest of the season.

“You never imagine it that way,” he said. “But you have to be prepared for the next step in any job. You learn a lot in those six to eight months about yourself as a coach and a person.”

After internal meetings following Oystrick’s departure, Barney said the players bought in for the rest of the season. The Broncos went 14-6-0-1 with Barney as head coach before falling to the Estevan Bruins in seven games in the SJHL playoffs quarterfinals.

The strong finish was enough to remove Barney’s interim tag, as he was given a three-year extension as the Broncos’ head coach.

The cherry on top of Barney’s first season as a coach came on July 11 when he was named as an assistant for Team Canada West in the 2019 World Junior A Challenge in December 2019.

From his ascension to becoming head coach of the Broncos, to his extension, and his Team Canada nod, Barney said he couldn’t be more excited for what’s in store.

“My goal was always to move up,” he said. “Any time you can move up, things move faster than what you would have thought, but obviously you take the opportunity and you run with it. Humboldt’s a great community and I’ve really enjoyed my time there with the people and the players I’ve worked with. I look forward to doing it again this season with a whole new crew – except for about six guys – and the challenge ahead.”

With a full offseason as head coach and general manager to prepare for the upcoming SJHL season, Barney has more time to make on-ice decisions such as bringing in Curtis Toneff as his assistant coach and off-ice moves such as bringing his family out to Humboldt.

Looking ahead to the 2019-20 SJHL season, Barney said it will be a year to bring in a younger team with fewer 19 and 20-year-olds that will stick together for two or three years, with the end goal being a Canalta Cup victory as league champions.

The Broncos begin their preseason exhibition schedule on Sept. 1 at Elgar Petersen Arena against the Notre Dame Hounds. The Broncos will play the Hounds at home once more on Sept. 14 for their season opener.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow