Hnat Domenichelli steps down as Vancouver Giants GM after one year

The Vancouver Giants announced Monday that Hnat Domenichelli is stepping down as general manager, setting the stage for a second straight summer of change for the WHL club.

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Domenichellli, 50, a former WHL star player with the Kamloops Blazers who had been working as a GM in Switzerland before signing on with Vancouver, is staying on with the Giants in a player personnel capacity, according to a new release.

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Domenichelli was hired last June on the same day the team also announced Parker Burgess, 41, as its new head coach. They replaced Barclay Parneta and Manny Viveiros, respectively, who both had parted ways with the Giants earlier last season.

The team never seemed to get any consistent traction this season and the Giants (25-39-2-2) finished last in the 12-team Western Conference.

Team captain Ryan Lin, a defenceman projected to go in the first round of June’s NHL Draft, recently announced that he was going to play next season with the University of Denver, giving up at least one year of junior eligibility in the process.

“I want to thank Hnat for managing a very difficult year for the Giants,” team majority owner Ron Toigo was quoted as saying in the press release. “I believe the moves he made over the past year have improved our team. We appreciate where things are at and I’m thrilled he will be staying on to help the team get to its next level.”

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In his new role, Domenichelli will be part of the decision making for the Giants at the May 6-7 WHL Draft. Vancouver has the No. 2 (via a 2023 trade with the Wenatchee Wild) and No. 4 overall selections. He’ll also help with the CHL Import Draft. Vancouver has three selections.

“After many discussions with Ron over the past few weeks, I feel this is the best path forward for both myself and the organization,” Domenichelli said.

A name that’s been linked to the Giants is that of Michael Dyck, the team’s former head coach. Various league sources say the Giants spoke last summer to Dyck about both positions as part of their job search prior to Domenichelli and Burgess signing on. Dyck, 57, guided Vancouver to the 2019 WHL championship series, working in tandem with Parneta. Dyck left the Giants in July 2023 for an assistant coach’s job with the Toronto Marlies and he’s finishing up a third season with the AHL farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs are expected to make sweeping changes this summer after firing general manager Brad Treliving. If Dyck becomes available, it would be a surprise if the Giants didn’t make some sort of pitch for him.

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SEwen@postmedia.com