Jeff Wagner has signed on for two more years

Press release from Fernie Ghostrider President Barb Anderson

The Fernie Ghostriders  are pleased to announce that Jeff Wagner has accepted a new two year deal to Coach and Manage the Fernie Ghostriders. 

This was Jeff’s first season as a Head Coach and GM and he has shown through his work ethic and hockey knowledge that he is more than capable of Coaching and Managing our hockey team both on and off the ice. 

 The Ghostrider  Board of Directors are very excited to continue working with Jeff and Assistant Coaches Justin Peers and Jered Neufeld and their vision for our team.

Jeff Wagner

"I’m very excited to be in Fernie for 2 more years. This is a great organization that has shown a large amount of support to me and my family."

"Fernie is a fantastic community to be a part of and extending my time here was an easy decision. I’d like to thank Barb Anderson and the Board of Directors for putting their trust in me. Looking forward to the challenge!”
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So there you have it Wagner will lead the Riders for a couple more seasons. But at this level coaches always have an out in their contract that lets them move up to Jr A if the right opportunity lands on their doorstep. 

That being said I’m guessing Jeff will probably stay here for one more year anyway before some Jr A team makes this up and comer  an offer he can’t refuse.

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When first year Head Coach Jeff Wagner was hired he was selected from a group that featured a few experienced and KIJHL ready coaches. So it was a bit of a leap of faith that the Board took when they brought in a younger less experienced coach, but Wagner has rewarded the Board and all the fans by moulding a team built from a nucleus of players who finished in fourth place with with 34 points into to a second place squad with 57 points with four games remaining.

But really, at least to me,  the leap of faith wasn’t all that big of a leap as Wagner was mentored by former Creston HC and GM Jeff Dubois who made Creston a contender in the three years he was there and won a couple of championships with the Selkirk Saints of the BCIHL before that. 

Dubois was always considered one of the few  “friends of the blog” and has been featured on these pages several times over the years. JD is currently with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs of the Jr A BCHL. 
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In a related story... The Ghostriders will finish the regular season in second place.

Jeff Wagner on finishing in second place.

It’s definitely something we can be proud of as a group. Our goal going into the second half of the season was to put ourselves in a position to have home ice for the first round of playoffs. It’s important to acknowledge those accomplishments. In saying that, we can now refocus our energy towards ramping things up for the journey that lies ahead of us.