The Alberni Valley Bulldogs are proud to officially announce that they’ve added Wacey Rabbit as the organizations assistant coach.
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Born in Lethbridge, Alberta, and raised on the nearby Kainai First Nation, Rabbit’s Junior Hockey career began with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades. After being drafted 154th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2005 NHL entry draft, Rabbit made his Professional Hockey debut with the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins in 2006. After being sent to the ECHL, Rabbit returned to Junior Hockey and was traded to the Vancouver Giants, where he scored 20 points in 22 playoff games before winning the Memorial Cup. Off the ice, he was named the recipient of the Doug Wickenheiser Memorial Award as the WHL’s Humanitarian of the Year.
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Rabbit then embarked on an extensive global professional career that spanned sixteen years that saw him play in the North America in the American Hockey League and the ECHL, as well as overseas in Croatia, Norway, Japan Italy the Czech Republic and Romania. He returned to North America and played the last two seasons with the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen before announcing his retirement on August 26th.
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On the addition of Rabbit to the coaching staff, Alberni Valley Bulldogs President David Michaud said “Adding a coach with Wacey’s playing history is a huge win for our players. Wacey will help our players in so many facets, both on and off the ice. I’m excited for the chance to work with Wacey and have both Wacey and his wife Ashley be a part of the community.”
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On making the decision to transition from playing to Coaching Rabbit commented
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“I’ve always planned on moving into Coaching when my playing Career concluded. As my mother was a Principal I have been surrounded by education and teaching. Combined with my passion for hockey, moving into coaching seemed like a natural progression. When presented with an opportunity to work for a great organization like the Bulldogs, in a league as professionally operated as the British Columbia Hockey League, I jumped at the opportunity”
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On adding Rabbit to his Coaching Staff, Head Coach and General Manager Joe Martin commented “I’ve worked with Wacey in Hockey Schools for a few years now, and I knew at some point he would coach for a living. His last few years of professional hockey, teammates and staff relied on him to help develop young players.”
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The Bulldogs are extremely lucky to have Wacey and Ashley join us, and we see it as a significant step forward for our organizational structure and our quest to win a championship.
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Rabbit and his Wife Ashley were married at the end of September, and have relocated to the Alberni Valley
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