The Queen’s men’s hockey team have chosen their new guy.
Announced on July 24, former Gaels player of 101 games and Head Coach of the Timmins Rock of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League, Brandon Perry, ArtSci ’13, will assume the position of Head Coach for the 2026 season. The team started their search shortly after the announcement that long time Head Coach Brett Gibson would retire from the team in April.
In the announcement uploaded to the Queens Athletics and Recreation (A&R) website, A&R Executive Director Linda Melnick said that Perry’s “journey from [a] Queen’s student athlete and graduate to his measurable impact on youth hockey provincially and nationally embodies the strategic foundation of our mission at A&R.”
Perry has spent the past five seasons coaching his hometown Rock, where they found tremendous success, including a league championship in 2023.
In an interview with The Journal, Perry humbly but excitedly explained the emotions of being officially named head coach.
“It’s a tremendous honour, I’ve obviously enjoyed my time at Queens, but excited to come back and give back to a program that has given so much in my life.”
No stranger to Kingston, before donning the Tricolour from 2008 to 2013, he also played his junior hockey career in Kingston for the now defunct Voyageurs.
“I grew up here, Timmins is my home, but Kingston is my second home,” said Perry. “It feels more like a homecoming than I probably initially anticipated.”
Perry inherits a program that has seen recent success including back-to-back OUA bronze medals, coupled with two USports National Championship appearances.
“I think the biggest thing is just to continue on the success they’ve had,” Perry stated. “You don’t fix something that isn’t broken, right? I just want to build on that.”
A big topic of discussion in recent years revolved around coaching styles and how to handle new age athletes. Perry’s coaching philosophy is what he describes as collaborative and demanding. “I’m very passionate and bring a lot of energy, I like to be detail-oriented in how we approach the game and our game plan,” said Perry. “With that being said, I have great relationships with my players, but I want to play extremely fast and add a ton of pressure at a high pace.”
Perry’s first official day as head coach will be Aug. 10.
Tags
Head Coach, hockey Canada, Queen’s Men’s Hockey
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