EVERETT — An Everett Silvertips favorite is returning to the fold.
Mitch Love, a former captain and perhaps the most-popular player in franchise history, is returning to the team as a member of the coaching staff, the team announced Friday afternoon.
Love, who earned cult status for his exploits during the Silvertips’ first two seasons from 2003-05, will have joint duties as an assistant coach and the team’s strength and conditioning coach.
This is the first coaching job for Love, who spent the past six seasons playing professionally in the minors. And there was no other place where Love wanted to start his coaching career.
“I always wanted to get into coaching, even in my days playing in the WHL,” Love said. “This place has meant a lot to myself and my family over the years, and I wanted to start my coaching career here. There was no way I could turn this opportunity down. I can’t say how excited I am to start here in Everett.”
Love fills the coaching vacancy left when associate head coach Jay Varady stepped down to become the head coach of the French professional team Ducs d’Angers.
Everett also announced the hiring of Taylor Dakers as the team’s new goaltending coach Friday. Dakers takes over for Jordan Sigalet, who became the goaltending coach for the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Heat.
Love was an original member of the Silvertips, being acquired from Swift Current in a trade during the expansion draft prior to the 2003-04 season. He served as an alternate captain during Everett’s improbable drive to the Western Conference title as an expansion team, then served as the captain as an overager the following season when the Tips upset Portland in an epic seven-game first-round playoff series.
Love gained his popularity with the crowd largely because of his willingness to drop the gloves, along with the enthusiasm he displayed following those fights. Yet during his two seasons with the Tips he developed to the point where he earned a free-agent contract with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. He spent five seasons playing in the American Hockey League, then he spent last season playing for the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs of the Central Hockey League.
Love has maintained a strong local presence following his playing days in Everett. He relocated to the region — he currently lives in Mill Creek — and during the offseasons he’s been involved with the local youth hockey scene.
Despite Love’s popularity, Everett general manager Doug Soetaert emphasized that Love wasn’t hired based on his history with the team.
“We’re not hiring Mitch because he was a captain here,” Soetaert said. “We hired him because we feel he can contribute. He’s really grown up mentally the last four years.
“Mitch had been talking about this for a couple years,” Soetaert added. “When Jay left I knew he would be knocking on my door. I wasn’t going to do anything until after I hired a head coach. After that Mitch came and talked to Mark (Ferner, the team’s new head coach) and Chris (Hartsburg, the team’s other assistant coach), and Mark feels comfortable with him and thinks he will be able to contribute to our staff.”
Love’s primary duties will be with strength and conditioning. Love has experience in that regard, running conditioning camps for youth players and occasionally working with Everett’s players when they were in town during the offseason.
“During my playing days I prided myself in good conditioning,” Love said. “That’s the name of the game these days. I’m going to make sure the kids know how to train during the season and in the offseason.”
Love becomes the second member of his family in the Tips organization. His father, Harley, is one of Everett’s scouts.
Check out Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog at http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog, and follow him on Twitter at NickHPatterson.
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