Statement from Peter Anholt

Today I am following up on the WHL and the Hurricanes’ announcement of my resignation as General Manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes Hockey Club.

First and foremost, I am the luckiest man in the world. I have a loving wife, Sharon, who has been with me step for step throughout 95% of my career. I have an awesome son, Matt, who without a doubt is a better coach than I ever was and is a far better hockey mind. I’m so lucky to have been able to work closely with Matt for the last 8 years.

I have been able to work in a league that I would most certainly say is the greatest development league in hockey, and have done it for the better part of 40 years, having started in 1986. The guidance of both Ed Chynoweth and Ron Robison was impressive to watch, but for me, both became great friends and mentors. I would also like to thank Rick Doerksen, who has given important help and guidance over the years.

I have been fortunate to work for some of the great hockey minds: Rick Wilson, Russ Farwell, Wayne Simpson, Terry Simpson and Donn Clark.

My assistant coaches who I was very lucky to work with: Roy Sommer, Pat Smith, Bobby Lowes, Mike Moller, Ryan Stewart, Glen Cochrane, Dave Manson, Kris Knoblauch and Mark Odnokon. These men have all gone on to have great careers and I am proud to say that I have coached with every one of them.

As a General Manager, I have had the privilege of working with three head coaches, all of whom brought stability, professionalism, and a strong work ethic and they were all great to work with over the years.

To the more than 1,000 players I have had the pleasure to coach, manage, scout, and be a part of the development. A HUGE thank you. I know I could be a very demanding coach and GM, but it was always with the intention to make you better as a player and help our team win. I was able to coach and manage some of the greatest players and competitors of all time. There were, and are, so many good men.

Why Now? Obviously, recent events have been a big part of this happening right now, but they are not the only reasons for my resignation.

I have always said that when doing this job is not fun anymore, it will be time to step away, and now it is that time.

The last two years have been very hard in so many ways. A heart attack in 2023, the wins weren’t as much fun and the losses became more hell than ever before. Being a part of Hockey Canada’s World Junior team as the manager and representing our country is without a doubt the greatest honor I have ever had in hockey. Unfortunately, it was the greatest disappointment too. The feeling of letting your country down leaves a hole in your gut that doesn’t seem to ever go away.

At the end of last season, I thought it may have been the right time to step away. But I did not want to leave the team without draft picks. So, I decided to stay one more year in hopes of providing a base for the organization to move forward with.

So when I look at it now, there is a very good, young coaching staff in place. The scouting staff is a solid veteran crew. The hockey support staff is as good as any in hockey. The office staff, led by Terry Huisman, is simply the best. And having Barclay Parneta already in place means he can hit the ground running. Barclay was the GM in Vancouver for 7 years, taking them to the league final in 2019, and is more than capable and has a good hockey mind.

So, with that, I would like to thank my old friends, Doug Paisley and Reid Williams. Your friendship is very important to me. Reid was an old teammate of mine and was the main reason I came to Lethbridge in the first place. Also, I want to thank the entire Board of Directors for your support over the years, including through this process. The support and autonomy that you gave me over the years to ‘do my job’ means a lot to me and the friendships built, I will appreciate forever.

Finally, to the Hurricanes fans: Thank you. I absolutely love our fans. You have supported us through tough times and through good times including three Conference Finals in 2017, 2018 and last season. But I am so sorry I could not bring you another Championship – that was always the goal. Hopefully with fresh eyes and fresh thoughts and the already established base of prospects in place, there is one in the not-so-distant future for the Hurricanes. The fans and City deserve another Championship!!

Thank you, Lethbridge.