Kisio thrilled to bring coaching career home to Red Deer
By DANNY RODE – The Kisio family has a history connected with Red Deer Rebels owner/president/General Manager Brent Sutter.
The father, Kelly Kisio, was born in Wetaskiwin and played in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with the Red Deer Rustlers, spending the 1977-78 season with Sutter.
After his pro career, Kelly joined the Calgary Hitmen, spending 19 years as GM, head coach and president of hockey operations and a rival to Sutter.
Brent Kisio joined his father as an assistant coach with the Hitmen in the 2007-08 season after spending four years with the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
The next 16 years Brent spent in the WHL – eight as an assistant coach with the Hitmen and eight as head coach with the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
Once again as Sutter’s rival.
The two become very familiar with each other and it seemed a nice fit when the Rebels head coaching job opened up this year and Brent Kisio put in his application.
Kisio spent the last three years as an assistant coach with the Henderson Silver Knights of the AHL. But he was looking for an opportunity to return home to Alberta.
So, when Sutter offered him the job he was quick to accept.
“I’m excited, really excited to be back where my family is,” said Kisio in a telephone interview from his current home in Lethbridge.
“I have a daughter 16, and two boys aged 14 and 12 and I’m excited to be back home and be around the family at this time in their growth.
“Red Deer is also home to me,” noted Kisio, who grew up in Calgary and spent a lot of time in Sylvan Lake.
“It’s great to be back home as a head coach with an organization I always looked up to and battled against. Now it’s fun to be part of.
“This is an opportunity to return home and be a head coach, be around my family and be part of a great organization. These opportunities don’t come around very often. You don’t get to coach back home. When you move away from home, move away from your family you appreciate the opportunity to be back home and be around them.”
He appreciated his time in the Vegas Golden Knights organization the last three years.
“Being in Henderson was an awesome experience after being in junior for so long,” he said. “You get the opportunity to see that next step towards the NHL. You see the guys who coached in junior try to take that step and realize it’s right there. It’s one injury, one phone call away. It taught me a lot from that standpoint in realizing how close it is if you push for it.”
Brent Kisio was born in Davos, Switzerland when Kelly played one year in the Swiss League in 1982-83. Kelly returned and spent over a decade in the NHL, finishing his career with the Calgary Flames.
Brent came up through the Calgary minor hockey system before joining the Olds Grizzlys of the AJHL in 1999, spending nearly three seasons there before finishing the 2001-02 season with the Fort McMurray Oil Barons. He finished his junior career with the Vernon Vipers of the BCHL in 2002-03.
During his early days in the WHL, Brent was in the background watching the coaching battles between his dad and Brent Sutter.
“It was always fun to see those two as friends battle each other,” he said.
Brent Sutter indicated he had several strong applications for the head coaching position.
“We had a number of awesome candidates,” he said. “It was a good process right to the end.
“In Brent, he knows the league and he’s had success with not always great teams at times. But he took them above and beyond.
“He looks to be a great fit for where our team is at today with all the young kids we have coming in.
“He develops players and gets the most out of them. He communicates well but also holds them accountable but does it with respect. He’s a good fit.”
Brent Kisio will spend a lot of the next month going back and forth between Lethbridge and Henderson and will move to Red Deer in August.
He’s looking forward to meeting the players.
“I’ve heard a lot about the young guys and the old guys,” he said. “We will have a lot of younger guys playing key roles and after talking with the coaches, Brent and the staff, I’m excited about that.
“I’ll meet and learn more about the individuals and it’ll go from there. It will be about developing those players.”
Brent did admit he will be learning after being away from the league for three years.
“Three years doesn’t seem like much, but a lot has happened,” he said. “But I’m excited to see the changes and to see where everything is at and build from there. I know I’m excited to be part of a great organization and I’m lucky for that.”
