Doty heading south

By DALE WOODARD on January 6, 2021.

Andrew Doty is taking his career to Vegas.

The Lethbridge Hurricanes announced Monday that Doty, one of the team’s assistant coaches, is on the move south of the border, hired as the Video Coach for the Henderson Silver Knights, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Las Vegas Golden Knights, in their inaugural season.

And as NHL camps fire up in anticipation of the Jan. 13 start to the season, so does Doty’s new gig with the Silver Knights.

“Right now we’re just kind of drinking in the NHL and getting a feel for how things are going to look with the protocols,” said Doty, on the phone from Las Vegas Monday afternoon, having arrived about a week ago. “They keep it pretty short and they have to do their meetings in smaller groups. So we’re there to observe from a distance and see how the NHL camp is running and get to know our players a little bit from watching them. We don’t know who our team is going to be, but we’re getting a look at everybody and seeing who we may have down the road. It sounds like our camp starts a few weeks after the NHL, but nothing has been decided yet as far as the AHL goes. We just know that we should be playing.”

The AHL is slated to start Feb. 5 and the schedule and format yet to be decided.

When the puck does drop, Doty will settle into his new job after after working alongside Hurricanes general manager Peter Anholt and head coach Brent Kisio.

Team services will also be part of his job description.

“There will be things related to taking care of the players off the ice and when we go on the road, but it’s mostly cutting film up during the game and between games, pre-scouting the opponents and helping out with any other systems or special teams with the coaching staff,” said Doty.

The 30-year-old product of Okotoks joins the Silver Knights for their first season alongside former Western Hockey League coaches Manny Vivieros (head coach/Swift Current and Spokane) and Jamie Heward (assistant coach Swift Current and Vancouver).

“I’ve worked with Jamie at Hockey Canada tournaments,” said Doty. I haven’t worked with Manny before, but he was a very good coach in the Western Hockey League and I’ve heard tons of good things. So it’s been good working with him.”

Eleven-year NHL veteran Joel Ward also joins the Silver Knights staff.

“With Joel just coming out of playing, it’s been an awesome experience to get to know him and he’s going to provide a ton for us from the player’s perspective,” said Doty.

“I think the work I’ve done with Hockey Canada teams has prepared me for that as far as going into new groups with new coaches and figuring out what they want quickly. I feel well-prepared.”

As the Golden Knights head into their training camp, the Silver Knights settle into their new home in Henderson.

“They built a practice facility in Henderson that will be dedicated to our team,” said Doty. “So we’re getting in there and getting settled and putting the office together and the tech side together.”

Doty first joined the Hurricanes during the 2013-14 season as a Game Night volunteer while attending the University of Lethbridge where he graduated with a management/business degree, with a major in marketing.

He began the 2014-15 season helping former Hurricanes head coach Drake Berehowsky track team statistics during home games and in December of 2014 was promoted to assistant to the GM with a stronger emphasis on the video coaching front.

Doty was promoted to video coach for the start of the 2015-16 season under Kisio and was promoted to assistant coach, his title for the last three seasons with the Canes.

“Obviously, it’s not an easy decision for me to leave the Hurricanes organization, which has been great to me over the years and it’s been such a great opportunity working with Pete and Brent, all of the coaching staff, the office staff and the whole organization,” said Doty. “But I had the opportunity to move up to pro and work with an organization that has the NHL team right in the same city. It’s a very good organization in the NHL and not a bad spot to be in as well in Vegas. I think on the whole it was an opportunity I couldn’t refuse.”

Doty takes a few lessons from his time in southern Alberta to the desert.

“With Pete, he just does things the right way and really takes care of his people and takes care of all the little details,” said Doty. “Brent has been an excellent coach to work for and how much I’ve learned and be able to see. He runs everything like it is in the pros. So coming out of that, that’s something I’m thankful for and, like our players who move up, very well-prepared for pro hockey just by the way things are run in the organization.”

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