A big item has been crossed off new general manager Craig Conroy’s to-do list. As originally reported by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Calgary Flames have named Ryan Huska as their new head coach. The club announced the move via press release on Monday morning.

The hiring of the 47-year-old Huska finishes an ascent up the coaching side of the Flames’ organization not unlike Conroy’s on the management side. Huska was an assistant coach with the Flames for five seasons (2018-23) and was head coach of their American Hockey League affiliate for four seasons before that (2014-15 in Adirondack and 2015-18 in Stockton).

Prior to joining the Flames organization, Huska spent 13 seasons behind the bench of the Western Hockey League’s Kelowna Rockets – he won a Memorial Cup in 2003-04 – and was an assistant coach on two Canadian World Junior entries (2010-11 and 2011-12), capturing silver and bronze medals. He also won three Memorial Cups as a player with the Kamloops Blazers, two of them alongside former teammate Jarome Iginla.

Huska will become the 20th different individual to serve as head coach in Flames franchise history. He previously served as interim coach briefly in 2021, coaching two games in the period between when Darryl Sutter was hired and when he cleared COVID-19 protocols and could join the team. The Flames have been without a head coach since Sutter was dismissed on May 1.

Per reports from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Huska was part of a final contender group that included Calgary Wranglers head coach Mitch Love, Pittsburgh Penguins associate coach Todd Reirden and former Vancouver Canucks head coach Travis Green. There’s no word yet what the rest of Huska’s coaching staff will look like, so the futures of associate coach Kirk Muller, assistant coach Cail MacLean and goaltending coach Jason LaBarbera aren’t immediately clear.

Huska will be introduced to the Calgary media at a press conference on Monday.