SEwen@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Ryan Lin leaving Vancouver Giants for University of Denver shows WHL at crossroads<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776125532_981_24-11-15-kam-006_291137757-1.jpg\")
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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.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Team captain Ryan Lin, a defenceman projected to go in the first round of June\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to thank Hnat for managing a very difficult year for the Giants,\u201d team majority owner Ron Toigo was quoted as saying in the press release. \u201cI believe the moves he made over the past year have improved our team. We appreciate where things are at and I\u2019m thrilled he will be staying on to help the team get to its next level.\u201d<\/p>\n
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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\u2019ll also help with the CHL Import Draft. Vancouver has three selections.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter many discussions with Ron over the past few weeks, I feel this is the best path forward for both myself and the organization,\u201d Domenichelli said.<\/p>\n
A name that\u2019s been linked to the Giants is that of Michael Dyck, the team\u2019s 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\u2019s job with the Toronto Marlies and he\u2019s finishing up a third season with the AHL farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t make some sort of pitch for him.<\/p>\n
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