Another former staff member is returning to the nest, as the Surrey Eagles have announced the addition of Rick Lanz as an assistant coach. Formerly the head coach with the Eagles during the 1996-97 season, Lanz returns to the team after spending the previous nine seasons as a scout with the NHL’s Colorado Avalanche. He has also spent time behind the bench for the BCHL’s Langley Hornets, Burnaby Express (where he reached the RBC Cup), and the WHL’s Tri-City Americans. He has coached NHL players like Kyle Turris and Scott Gomez.
Lanz, 55, is also a veteran of 569 NHL games played. He spent his career with the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Chicago Blackhawks over the span of two decades. He recorded a total of 65 goals and 221 assists over the course of his career.
“For me, it’s an interesting scenario,” Lanz stated in an interview with SurreyEagles.ca. “I went down this path a number of years ago, and spent quite a lot of time in the league. I had some particularly fond moments and memories with the Eagles organization. For me to have an opportunity to do this again, it’s an exciting time.”
Lanz has been watching the current Eagles squad closely since the beginning of the season, and sees many positive signs with the roster. The team is off to a 1-6-1-0 start, but has out-shot and out-performed their opponents in each game.
“I think we only have to tweak a few things,” Lanz suggested. “There is a fine line between winning and losing, and we’ve been in pretty much every game that we’ve played this season. With some minor adjustments, we can turn the corner and become the team that we know we can be.”
The Eagles were looking to fill a void after assistant coach Colin Hemingway had to step down due to personal reasons. With Lanz finishing his commitments with the Avalanche, it was the perfect time for the Eagles to approach him – the definition of a win-win situation.
Lanz hopes his experience and knowledge of the game will rub off on the team’s young players. His guidance and unique view of the game should help the players achieve of their goal of receiving an NCAA scholarship – and eventually reaching the NHL.
“Over the last 9 years, I’ve been to a lot of games, seen a lot of players, and the things that I have learned are certainly applicable to this group here. If I can present some guidance and information to the these young players, I think it will be a good thing.”
“The experience that I’ve had, the better part of 30 years in this game, will hopefully help the situation.”
With the roster and full coaching staff now in place, Lanz hopes that the “buzz” around the Eagles that he felt in the mid-90s returns to the South Surrey community.
