The old lead dog of North Vancouver’s Junior B hockey franchise has resumed his role at the head of the Pack.
Matt Samson was the founding coach and general manager of the team, partnering with his father Dean Samson to get the Wolf Pack up and running in Squamish in 2008. He was just 26 years old when the team first took the ice, and the Pack struggled to get much momentum going up the Sea-to-Sky highway. The club’s fortunes changed dramatically, however, when the Samsons moved the Pack down to North Vancouver in 2011. The team improved their record each season, culminating in a Pacific Junior Hockey League championship win in 2015.
That summer, however, Matt made a move, with the Wolf Pack’s blessings, up to a higher-level league, joining the Junior A Merritt Centennials of the BCHL as an assistant coach. He became a key part of that club, even serving as the head coach for a stint last December when the normal bench boss got called away for a mid-season tournament.
In the end, though, Matt came back, happy to raise his young family on the West Coast and resume his duties as general manager and director of hockey operations for the Pack.
“I’ve been involved with this since Day 1,” Samson said about returning to the Wolf Pack. “It’s just something that I really want to see succeed and I think I can be a part of that. … I definitely kept tabs on the team being away and had a lot of interest in different players and stuff like that. It’s good to be back.”
Spending three years with a junior A team helped him grow in the game, said Samson.
“I learned a lot just watching other teams play and talking to a lot of coaches,” he said. “We had a lot of NHL scouts who would come and watch our games. … Lots of division 1 schools come in and just hung out and talked hockey and shared their knowledge of the game. That was nice. … I always wanted to hear from coaches and what they have to offer.”
Samson, however, said he wasn’t interested in sticking around as a Junior A assistant coach.
“I figured I’d give it a shot. I gave it three years, and that was kind of the longest I wanted to do it in that role,” he said about leaving the Centennials. “It was time. I really wanted to get a head job in that league – I still would – but being an assistant coach for three years … I needed to move on from being an assistant coach. I’d done the three years, I’d shown that I can coach in the league.”
Samson returns to a team that should maintain its status as one of the PJHL’s top-tier clubs. The Pack, however, hasn’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs since Samson’s last season. A league restructuring should help that though, as the PJHL has virtually eliminated conference play, with every team in the league now scheduled to play every other team four times. The playoffs have also changed to see the league’s No. 1 team face off against No. 8 and so on down the line, regardless of division. This should help North Van, who have always played in the league’s tougher conference against perennial powerhouse teams.
“Last year we finished third overall in the league and we ended up playing the second overall team in the league in the first round and lost in a pretty tight series,” Samson said. “That team went on to win the provincial championship.”
The Pack will once again be led on the bench by head coach Bayne Koen, who was an assistant under Samson on the 2015 team.
“I have full trust in him,” said Samson. Former players Jamie Creamore and Daniel Delbianco are the team’s assistant coaches.
“They’re good, young ex-Wolf Pack guys wanting to cut their teeth as coaches,” said Samson. “I’ve been really impressed being around them for the last couple months. I have full faith in those guys.”
On the ice, North Vancouver native Justin Lee will lead the team as captain, following a season in which he led the Pack with 25 goals.
“He’s just a really nice player to watch,” said Samson. “He probably missed his window getting into the BCHL – his speed and skill, he definitely is a Junior A player but he missed that window and was a little undersized as an 18-year-old.”
Forward Lucas Barker, another North Vancouver native, and defenceman Jacob Callas were added to the team this year and are both expected to be league leaders, said Samson. Both players bring Junior A experience with them.
Another North Vancouver native, forward Joshua Peakman, should have a central role as the team’s second-line centre, said Samson.
If all goes well, Samson will pick up right where he left off, as a league champion.
“We want to be one of the top teams,” he said. “The big thing is everybody is pulling in the same direction. I think we’ve got a good shot at it.”
The Wolf Pack began the regular season on the road in Delta Sept. 4, and will host Ridge Meadows in their home opener Saturday, Sept. 8 starting at 7 p.m. at Harry Jerome Arena.
