Vancouver Goldeneyes fire head coach Brian Idalski after inaugural season

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Goldeneyes have dismissed head coach Brian Idalski after the team’s first season.

General manager Cara Gardner Morey announced the move Monday, saying in a statement that Idalski faced “unique challenges and opportunities” in his role.

The 55-year-old American came to Vancouver following a long career coaching NCAA women’s hockey, and previously served as head coach of the Shenzhen Kunlun Red Star in Russia’s Zhenskaya Hockey League.

The Goldeneyes finished their inaugural season with a 9-3-4-14 record and missed the playoffs.

The team struggled out of February’s month-long Olympic break, winning just one of its next six games and slipped down the standings.

Vancouver then went on a win streak late in the campaign that earned the team the first overall pick in this month’s draft.

” (Idalski’s) leadership and experience helped establish the foundation of our organization during its inaugural year,” Gardner Morey said in a statement.

“We thank Brian for his professionalism and commitment to the Vancouver Goldeneyes and wish him all the best moving forward.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2026.

The Canadian Press