Photo credit: Steve Dunsmoor

By Regan Bartel

Mallette relieved of his duties

Breaking: Rockets make head coaching change

Jan 10, 2025 | 10:01 AM

The Kelowna Rockets are making a coaching change.

Kris Mallette, first hired as an assistant coach in 2014, has been relieved of his duties.

Assistant Coach Derrick Martin is the interm head coach and Liam McOnie has been added as an assistant.

Regan’s Take: Personally, this is a tough one for me. Much like the players, I have seen Kris move through the coaching ranks the right way. Slow and steady wins in the race. Mallette did not fast track to being the head coach of the Kelowna Rockets. He slowly moved his way up the ladder. I had a great relationship with him, one I did not take for granted. I’d suggest he followed a similar head coach to broadcaster relationship that I had with Ryan Huska and Dan Lambert. They are incredibly unique with massive trust the key to the foundation of the relationship. Could I hear the train a com’n? I could. I just thought if a change were to be made, it would come in a worst case this summer, or in a best case if the team struggled out of the gates in 2025-2026. I wanted to publicly thank ‘Mally’ for his transparency on our ‘coach approach’ segments on 104-7 The Lizard and for his dedication to the team. He wanted to win more than anyone on that bus. I saw it every day.

Rockets press release:

GM Bruce Hamilton/AGM Curtis Hamilton

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Dec 03, 2024

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Sep 13, 2024

Kelowna Rockets President and General Manager Bruce Hamilton announced today that the team has named Derrick Martin as the Rockets interim Head Coach. Additionally, the Rockets have hired Liam McOnie as an Assistant Coach.

Head Coach Kris Mallette has been relieved of his coaching duties, effective immediately.

“I’d say it’s been a tough week. We moved some of our best players and acquired some solid, good young people that are joining our organization. I just felt that with the new players here, if we were going to make a coaching change that now would be appropriate time,” said Rockets President and General Manager Bruce Hamilton.

“I think that it’ll give Derrick an opportunity as he’ll be the interim head coach and will give us an opportunity to get these players a new voice.”

“I can’t thank Kris enough for what he’s done for our organization. He’s been with us longer than anybody has been in the organization, maybe other than Scott Hoyer. He was all class when I met him today and he’s a really good person. He’s going to land on his feet and get another hockey job in a hurry. He’s had tremendous success at the international level, and we wish him nothing but the best.”

“I think it was just time for a change. It’s a tough day, but it’s a fresh start.”

Martin is in his first season as a member of the Rockets coaching staff, he was hired as an assistant coach during the summer of 2024. Prior to his time in the Western Hockey League, Martin spent the 2023-24 season as the General Manager and Head Coach of the Camrose Kodiaks. He also spent time as the Head Coach of the Okanagan Hockey Academy Edmonton U15 Prep, as well as an Assistant Coach with the Spruce Grove Saints and OHA Edmonton.

Martin also led Team Alberta, which featured Rockets prospects Owen Hayden and Nathan Cole, to a gold medal at the 2024 WHL Cup in Red Deer.

McOnie has spent the past eight seasons coaching, starting off as a goaltending coach for the North Okanagan Knights, while also becoming a goaltending consultant for the Tri-City Americans.

McOnie joined the Rockets as a consultant in 2021-22 while also holding the title of General Manager and Head Coach of North Okanagan. This season, he was named the General Manager and Head Coach of the Sicamous Eagles of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.

Mallette was promoted from Assistant Coach to Head Coach of the Rockets in February of 2020 and was officially named Kelowna’s Head Coach in March of that same year. With Mallette behind the bench, the team had a record of 121-107-19.