Murray returns to Wheat Kings as general manager

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This article was published 30/08/2022 (1118 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Brandon Wheat Kings legend Marty Murray is coming home.

The 47-year-old Lyleton product has been named its new 18th general manager in the Western Hockey League era, news that was released on Monday morning. He replaces Doug Gasper, who resigned in May after one year on the job.

“I’ve had a long history here and I’ve bled black and gold since day one I stepped in the door,” said Murray, who spoke by phone from his new office after flying into Brandon on Sunday night. “For me, it’s special. I thought maybe at some point I might get to work for the Wheat Kings in some capacity. You never know when that opportunity is going to come.

“I can’t be more excited to get going and get right into the season.”

Wheat Kings owner Jared Jacobson said Murray was the perfect fit.

“First and foremost, he’s an incredible person,” Jacobson said. “He’s so excited, and his excitement to be back in Brandon made me excited and happy to be the owner of the Wheat Kings. His demeanour and attitude and excitement really gave me a bunch of motivation for this year.

“The rest of the staff and the hockey ops guys are all super excited to have him.”

Murray and Jacobson began having initial conversations a month ago. It was complicated on Murray’s end because his son will graduate from high school this year, so they’re staying for now in Sioux Falls, S.D.

“A lot of things outside of hockey came into play,” Murray said. “At first I didn’t overly pursue it but with more talking to Jared and talking to my family, we thought it would be a pretty good fit for us.”

While the hiring took more than three months, Jacobson said it was important to do it right. He wasn’t in a rush as he waded through a pile of applications for the job.

“My strategy all along was that I wanted to wait and make sure I had everybody’s resumé in so that I could take the time and find the right fit for the culture and the team,” Jacobson said. “I didn’t want to rush it. I know it might seem like last minute but it’s been in the works for a long time. These type of hires take a long time and lot of conversations and a lot of logistics.

“It took a little bit longer but the patience paid off.”

Murray, who was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019, piled up 392 points in 264 regular season games over four seasons in Brandon between 1991 and 1995. He was named the Western Hockey League’s top player in 1995 and was voted onto Brandon’s all-time WHL team in 2017.

He played 261 games in the National Hockey League and four seasons in European leagues during his 14-year professional career. He retired after spending the 2009-10 season in the American Hockey League with the Manitoba Moose and Milwaukee Admirals. The family moved to Minot — his wife is from just outside the city — in 2005.

After retiring, Murray opened a hockey training facility with synthetic ice that had some shooting lanes and interactive training tools, and was hired to guide the Minot Minotauros when they joined the North American Hockey League for the 2011-12 season.

He served as head coach for five years and coach/GM for four seasons with the Minotauros. He posted a record of 254-194-44 and was named Central coach of the year in 2015, Central general manager of the year in 2016 and 2017 and was named the top GM in the Central and the entire league in 2019.

On April 28, 2020, he left to join the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, where the team struggled, posting a two-season record of a 37-69-6-4. In June, the club announced he had been replaced by Rob Rassey, making the Manitoban available.

Murray joins a franchise with good support already in place. Director of hockey operations Chris Moulton has a year under his belt with the team, and Murray was actually coached by head scout Mark Johnston.

“I think having Chris and Mark and the experience they’ve had in the league, that will give me some comfort as I get my feet wet,” Murray said. “There is going to be a lot for me to learn. I’m just a few hours into the job and getting to know the player personnel and things like that.

“Having those guys is going to be very, very valuable. Chris has been great so far … and Johnny was an assistant coach when I was here 30 years ago and he’s been great to me, not only during my four years with the Wheat Kings but beyond that as well. I know he’s a guy I can call on.”

Murray noted he can also reach out to people like former owner Kelly McCrimmon, former head coach Bobby Lowes and his former teammate Darren Ritchie, who also served as general manager.

“That was a big thing for me, the network of people I have who can help me keep the organization where it is,” Murray said. “Hopefully we can make it stronger and stronger.”

The veterans officially report to Brandon today, with the prospects and camp invitees arriving on Wednesday evening. Rookie camp begins on Thursday, with main camp kicking off on Saturday.

That will give Murray his first look at the team he’s inheriting. He said the biggest building block he likes to see in players is an innate competitiveness.

“Those guys who are highly skilled but don’t have the intensity or the work ethic to match that often get pushed to the side,” Murray said. “We want to be a team that is a little bit blue collar, like the Wheat Kings, and we want to play with that Wheat King pride every night.

“I want to be a team that can get up and down the ice and skate fast and make plays and possess the puck. Our forward group, from what I understand — again I’m just trying to get the lay of the land here — there are some players coming back and coming in who fit that standard.”

Jacobson said a factor in Murray’s hire was that he has local ties to the city.

Since the summer of 2016 when McCrimmon moved on to the National Hockey League’s Vegas Golden Knights, the GM position has been held by Grant Armstrong, Ritchie and Gasper. Armstrong’s contract wasn’t renewed in 2019, while Ritchie and Gasper both landed NHL scouting jobs.

He added it’s a relief to have Murray in place.

“I think it’s great for everybody, not just for myself but for the rest of the staff, the coaches, all the business ops,” Jacobson said. “We all just want to have a leader in place. It’s nice we have all the positions filled so we can just focus on the business and the hockey.

“It would be nice to have — knock on wood — a normal year and see what our franchise can do.”

Murray was on a lengthy league call on Monday morning when the news was released at 10 o’clock, and noted with a chuckle he had about 75 text messages by noon.

He considers it a nice problem to have.

“It will be great to connect with a lot of people,” Murray said. “I’ve been States-side for a number of years and I’ll be able to connect with a lot of friends and family.”

ICINGS: The Victoria Royals have added former Wheat Kings and Regina Pats forward Morgan Klimchuk and former Victoria defenceman Ralph Jarratt as assistant coaches. The news was released Saturday. Klimchuk served as an assistant coach with the under-15 Edge School U15 prep team last season in his hometown of Calgary. They also promoted Dara Festinger to senior manager, hockey operations and player personnel while Dave Prestage was named manager, hockey research and data analysis … The Red Deer Rebels sent 19-year-old defenceman Kyle Masters and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 draft to the Memorial Cup host Kamloops Blazers on Monday for 18-year-old defencemen Mats Lindgren. Both were selected in the first round of the WHL draft and in the fourth round of the NHL draft.

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