Curtis Toneff will be moving on as head coach of the Nanaimo Buccaneers Junior B Hockey Club on Vancouver Island to become the new assistant coach of the Humboldt Broncos. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Broncos New Coach

Vancouver Island to Humboldt: Broncos find new assistant coach

Jun 5, 2019 | 5:46 PM

The Humboldt Broncos are bringing in a West Coast vibe to the coaching staff next season.

Curtis Toneff, from Nanaimo, B.C., was officially announced as the Broncos’ new assistant coach for the 2019-20 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season after spending two seasons as head coach of the Nanaimo Buccaneers Junior B Hockey Club.

Toneff told northeastNOW he hasn’t applied for an assistant coaching position since he spent two years with the Trail Smoke Eaters of the British Columbia Hockey League between 2015 and 2017. But he saw the Broncos’ job posting on Twitter and felt it was a right fit.

His feeling seemed to be correct as he continued to talk with Head Coach Scott Barney.

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“Scott got back to me right away and told me it was going to be a couple of weeks,” Toneff said. “I’m a [defence] guy when it comes to being an assistant coach and he was looking for a guy to work with the team’s defence. He asked me a number of questions, like how much video do you watch? what drills and systems do you like? and my answers may have lined up with his philosophies of the game.”

Since he was officially hired, Toneff said he and Barney have texted back and forth about hockey philosophies and players, especially the recruiting aspect. Toneff was told by Barney that the 2019-20 Broncos could be the youngest in the SJHL next season. He intends to recruit players from the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League – where the Buccaneers play – and see if they’d be interested in living the Prairie life.

“There’s going to be a lot of teaching and probably some growing pains at certain points next year, just because we will be that young,” he said. “As far as actual players on the team right now, I can’t say a whole heck of a lot confidently because I haven’t seen them with my own two eyes, but we’re going to be young, fast, and full of energy. From my conversations with Scott, that’s how we want to look next season.”

With him already having a head coach position in his home town, Toneff was asked why he would move to Saskatchewan for an assistant role. He said during his playing days which saw him dress 33 games for the Battlefords North Stars in 2011-12, the people he met in the Prairies were second to none.

“It’s been a great organization from the time I came into the SJHL,” he said. “My goal would be to eventually coach in the WHL, but I’m here to stick with the process and be patient. You see a lot of SJHL coaches moving on to the WHL and for me that would be my route. I didn’t really bat an eye when i had to think about moving out there, it’s something you have to be prepared to do in the coaching world.”

Toneff hopes to arrive in Humboldt by early August, as he needs to hire his replacement as the Buccaneers head coach before he helps Barney prepare for the 2019-20 Broncos season.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow