Ryan Thorpe never had any doubt his future lay inside an ice arena.
Thorpe, recalls that even when he was in elementary school, he was convinced the only way he could be happy was through the game of hockey.
“I was one of those kids in school who, when I was asked to put down what you want to be when you grow up, I always wrote down pro hockey player,” Thorpe says. “When they asked for a second career ambition, it was to make a living involved in hockey. Other kids would jump from sports star or movie star to fireman or policeman. I would always stay with the hockey.”
It turns out Thorpe knew what he was talking about. Now in his second season as head coach and general manager of the Surrey Eagles at the tender age of 23, Thorpe has already established himself as one of the sport’s up-and-coming bench bosses.
Thorpe learned the game playing with Semiahmoo Minor Hockey before graduating to play in the Western Hockey League with Kamloops and Spokane. He was selected in the fifth round of the 1999 NHL by the Vancouver Canucks before shoulder injuries curtailed his playing career. He played his final season of junior hockey with the Eagles before joining the team’s coaching staff as an assistant the following year.
At the end of that season, Eagles owner Bruce Rielly opted to not renew the contract of head coach and G.M. Mark Holick. His search for a replacement was a short one as less than a month later, Thorpe was given the job.
“I never had any doubt about it and I didn’t feel any extra pressure about making that decision,” Rielly says. “Ryan had played for me as a 20-year-old and was an unbelievable leader on our team. Then he came in as an assistant coach and did a fantastic job -I could see his hockey knowledge, his love for the game and his competitiveness so there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to be very successful in this league.”
Rielly was convinced, but others in the hockey community greeted the appointment with wagging tongues and raised eye brows.
Thorpe admits some rival coaches and general managers might have tried to take advantage of his relative inexperience at first but if the lack of respect bothered him, he doesn’t show it.
“I heard that I haven’t paid my dues and I’ll be the first guy to admit that, there’s no question,” he says. “At the same time I’ll admit that I’m in a good situation with a good owner who helps me do my job and makes my job easier. I’m not naive or stupid but in saying that, I’m not going to worry about what other people are saying about me.”
It wasn’t long before Thorpe began proving Rielly had made the right move. In his rookie season behind the bench, Thorpe led the Eagles to their first BCHL Mainland Division title since 1999. Thorpe then guided the Eagles through two rounds of the BCHL playoffs before bowing out to eventual champion Nanaimo in the Coastal Conference finals in April.
“Look at his record, that says it all,” Rielly says. “Other coaches in the league know how hard it is to do what he did even with all the years of experience they have. He’s earned himself a lot of respect around the league. At first they thought he was a punk kid coming in and stealing someone else’s job or something, but now he’s a legitimate coach in all of their eyes.”
Any doubt about Thorpe’s coaching ability and eye for talent was put to rest when he converted a fringe winger into the league’s most dominant defenceman. Tyler Eckford came to the Eagles in the fall of 2003 as a forward hoping to make the jump from Junior B. Thorpe moved him to defence and by the end of the season, Eckford was a seventh round selection of the New Jersey Devils with a full-ride scholarship to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.
Thorpe says he tries to draw on his experience as a player when it comes to running his bench but he knows there is a distinct line between player and coach that must be maintained.
“I always tell the guys that if they respect me, then I’ll respect them,” Thorpe says. “That means me allowing them to do things that they need to do, to grow up and make some decisions on their own rather than me being down their throat every 10 seconds.
“At the same time, I have to be very, very clear that I am the coach and there are times to be a friend and times to be a coach. I think you can do both as long as it’s made very clear the lines of communication are open and it never swings too far one way – me trying to be a coach too much and them trying to be friends too much.”
Thorpe has followed up his rookie coaching campaign with a solid start to his sophomore season. The Eagles currently own the best record in the BCHL at 14-2-0-2 and are ranked third in the country among junior A teams.
In just over two seasons, Thorpe has made a seamless transition from player to coach and he now has the Eagles poised for a run at some serious silverware in the spring.
The determination he showed as youngster to build a career in hockey has paid off even faster than he might have imagined.
“Obviously I’m surprised to be where I am at this age, so early in my life,” Thorpe says.
“The bottom line is I’m still in love with hockey and I’m pretty much as close as I can be to the game without playing right now. I’m pretty happy.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRIAN HOWELL
