One season closes wrapping up what should have been a “winner take all’ but for whatever reason the 2025-26 chapter failed to produce the championship team that was built for winning from the start of the past season.
Prior to moving on with the article we should mention that the photo posted with the article is the wrong photo as there is none posted on any site and once we get one with Brien in a Sockeyes jacket, we’ll post it up.
Players move on to the next chapter in their career in search of reaching and achieving their dream goal of playing at the highest level of the game they can reach.
Not only do players move on as do the coaches who look to build their resume with new teams and organizations not only just to reach but also by teaching and helping future stars of tomorrow.
The final chapter this past season saw the departure of Head Coach Scott Hewson who moved on following an impressive season record of 44 wins, 5 losses along with 1 O/T win finishing with 88 points, but failing to make the final championship.
As we all know there are three parts to any season, pre-season, regular season then wrapping up with the playoff season and while any team can have a winning record in regular season that doesn’t necessarily carry over to the playoffs.
Sad but true and as with other organizations Scott is no longer with the Sockeyes which saw them searching for a new “bench boss” as they head into the upcoming PJHL season.
Given the professionalism of the Sockeyes organization it’s no surprise that they had applications from various individuals which I’m hearing had several qualified individuals submit their resumes for consideration.
The search was finalized with the hiring of Brien Gemmell who has been involved with not just the league but also hockey in the lower mainland for several past seasons working at various levels of the game from Minor to Junior.
Personally, Brien and I go back years which I can honestly say I have found him to be honest, fair and dedicated to growing the sport which also involves focusing on their integrity, commitment and a passion for the game beyond winning.
Knowing his back-ground we learn that he only has two brothers both who played sports each venturing into various career’s one who works in radio communications while the other is an educator in Whitehorse.
His career in coaching dates back following his playing days in North Delta up to U18 or Juvenile where he turned his attention to coaching in 1990 working with a couple of “buddies” just to give back following his Dad’s footsteps.
During his playing days in North Delta as he put it “I had some remarkable coaches such as Gary McCaskill, Norm Wallace and Gary Flemming to name a few” who he remembers indicating that he took part of what they taught putting it in his play book.
That kicked-off his career, understanding coaching became his passion while becoming a teacher following his parents footsteps who were both teachers but the 90ties that saw him go back to school to get his teaching certificate in Dawson Creek.
Living there saw him get involved with his first experience with the Dawson Creek Raiders with Gary Cooper who is a long-time coach in the Peace area spending “a year and a bit” in the winter of 97 returning to the lower mainland in January 98 getting hired by the Surrey School District.
He is a Physical Education teacher during the day then coached in the evening eventually moving to coach in North Delta working under coaches such as Ron Johnson, Bill Zarheria and others.
Ron or RJ has coached several teams from Minor to Junior winning a National Championship in 98 while Bill was an Assistant Coach with the Burnaby Bulldogs working with former NHL’er Darcy Rota in the late 90ties.
He mentioned “there are lots of people who think you just go on the ice and run a practice, but there’s more to it than that” which filters down to having a succession plan moving forward.
He started working with the Delta Ice Hawks and the Surrey Eagles (around) 98 working with Mark Holick for a few years then moving to become the Head Coach/GM with the Queens Park Pirates the year before they moved to North Delta.
Eventually he got married and along the way he worked with Craig Sherbaty in 2004 where they put together a skills program at Tweedsmuir until 2014 then moved on to coach in Cloverdale at the U15 AAA then the U18 AAA levels.
He was eventually contacted by former Richmond Sockeyes player Brett Reusch who introduced Brien to his Uncle Ron who got him involved when Jay Rogers was leaving who was looking for someone to get involved being hired eventually getting hired by Ron.
Changes in the off-season saw the building of the Cloverdale Junior Hockey Club who were looking for someone to get it off the ground seemed to be the fit he was looking forward to.
Given possible changes with Cloverdale it was Brien’s opportunity to get back involved with coaching one of the most iconic junior franchises in BC as well as the opportunity to work with the Sockeyes.
I asked him if there is one change over time that has changed the game he mentions “you have to be a communicator given that in today’s world communication means doing things differently making sure you understand how this gets done.”
Coaching reflects on setting specific boundaries for everyone and given he’ll be working with returning coaches Matthew Stewart and Bob Delorme they are looking to add one more.
Brien’s approach is more on the calmer side dealing with players, officials as well as situations that others might not understand.
Given the way the game has changed it’s going to be a collaborative approach from ownership to coaching staff bringing in players which can be difficult given the changes the hockey world is headed.
Brien’s professionalism and dedication to growing the Sockeyes bringing a championship team to the City of Richmond is only the start of better things to come.
We welcome Brien to the Richmond Sockeyes!!
