South Korea, Canada name new coaches

Kim Tae-ho has been appointed as the South Korea national team head coach this season after serving as an assistant coach for the last seven years.

Kim has already helped Korea achieve unprecedented success, leading the team to its first Paralympic medal – a bronze at the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympics. He also helped the Korean side claim bronze medals at the 2019 and 2017 World Championships A-Pool tournaments. Korea had also finished fourth at the most recent Winter Paralympics in Beijing. 

Kim also has experience as a World Para Ice Hockey referee and wants to help the Korean team develop, discover, and grow young players in the future. “I am also deeply interested in discovering and growing female players,” he said.

More responsibility

Meanwhile, Russ Herrington has taken over at the helm in Canada national Para ice hockey team after Ken Babey’s departure to Norway. 

Herrington served as the assistant coach for the Canadian national team since 2017, having guided the squad to a world title in 2017, world silver medal in 2019 and Paralympic silver medals in PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022.

The Toronto native has also served as the head coach for York Lions men’s hockey in Ontario since 2017, having led the Lions to a championship in his first year. He is also the first new head coach for Team Canada since 2015.

“I owe a debt of gratitude to coach Ken Babey and (team manager) Marshall Starkman for bringing me in,” Herrington said. 

“This group has allowed me to grow with the programme and help build it into what it is today. It has been an enjoyable journey for me, and I am eager to take on more responsibility, lead this team and work with our great staff. We are excited about the group of players in our programme, and we look forward to returning to the ice for a highly competitive camp to kick off a new season.”