The Victoria Grizzlies are pleased to announce the hiring of Matt Irwin and Garry Nunn to the organization in coaching roles & Bo Lewis as the club’s new director of player personnel.
Matt Irwin will join the Grizzlies as director of player development. A native of Victoria, Irwin recently completed a professional career that spanned 15 seasons, and included 461 NHL games with stops in San Jose, Nashville, Anaheim, Buffalo and Washington. Known as a versatile two-way defenceman, the Grizzlies defence core will enjoy learning from Irwin.
Garry Nunn joins the Grizzlies as the club’s assistant coach. Nunn, also a native of Victoria, starred for the Salsa / Grizzlies organization before moving on to the WHL for 3 seasons. Nunn began his professional career in 2010 with time in the ECHL, AHL, Italy, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland for his final 6 seasons. With over 700 career professional points, the Grizzlies offence should benefit greatly from his presence on the bench.
With Geoff Grimwood settling into the role of head coach and general manager, finding experienced additions was important. “Going forward, as an organization, we wanted to push hard on player development. Bringing in Matt and Garry gives us two young, but experienced professional players who have their roots in the BCHL. I think they are going to have a significant impact on our players and on our program overall. Both are incredibly passionate and driven guys. It makes our coaching staff significantly stronger, and I think will make a big difference for our players”.
Grizzlies club president David Michaud believes the additions will help take the Grizzlies program to another level. “Having Geoff and Suneil Karod supported with the addition of two veteran professional players with roots to Victoria and the BCHL was something we couldn’t pass up on. I’m excited for our players to have additional layers of support to help with their development and prepare them for the next level,” said Michaud.
Finally, Bo Lewis joins the Grizzlies as the director of player personnel. Lewis, a lawyer in Nanaimo, brings a deep background in coaching and scouting. Lewis served as the director of scouting for the Powell River Kings from 2016-2018 and coached in the BCEHL with the North Island Silvertips. Lewis will focus on supporting the club’s recruiting and scouting efforts.
Season Tickets for the 25-26 season remain on sale at early bird pricing. CLICK HERE to learn more, or visit the team store at the Q Centre to pick your seats at the best prices of the year! Grizzlies Hockey, where the WestShore comes together!
