joined the squad for the 2026-2027 season<\/a>, said the reason is simple: family. <\/p>\n\u201cI have a two-and-four-months-old, and a nine-month-old with my wife, so we\u2019re in the thick of it,\u201d Rutherford said Tuesday (Nov. 3). \u201cI\u2019ve really tried to prioritize being a dad \u2026 I was really struggling trying to be a general manager and a head coach with the family, and I brought it to (Eagles co-owner TJ Brar), and he wanted me to do both \u2014 which is in all fairness, is what he hired me to do \u2014 I just never anticipated (the hours). It was 18-hour days \u2026 I was never seeing my kids. There\u2019s really nothing other to it than I made a decision to be around my kids more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the team\u2019s results haven\u2019t been the best so far this season, Rutherford noted the team has always been focused on being a more process-oriented team, and believing in that process. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe results weren\u2019t there, but there\u2019s quite a few games, if you look through analytics \u2026 where we could have had totally different results,\u201d Rutherford said. \u2018It\u2019s never easy losing, but honestly, I was really struggling because it was affecting my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
When his daughter fell down the stairs when he was supposed to be paying attention to her was a key moment in his decision-making process, Rutherford shared, noting his daughter is OK, but it was a telling moment for him. <\/p>\n
Rutherford was grateful for his time with the Surrey Eagles and for the chance to be a BCHL general manager and head coach. <\/p>\n
\u201cI appreciate the opportunity. I know now, at this present time, I can\u2019t do both and that\u2019s what they hired me for \u2026 I\u2019m really grateful for the opportunity,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great place to come and coach hockey and be around hockey, but at the end of the day, my kids are only this small for so (long) \u2026 it\u2019s disappointing, but I also don\u2019t think when I look down (at my children) that I\u2019m going to regret spending these years with my kids.\u201d<\/p>\n
Peace Arch News has reached out to Eagles co-owner Ron Brar. <\/p>\n
On Tuesday (Nov. 3), Surrey Eagles posted the team is \u201cproud to welcome\u201d Gaelan Patterson as the team\u2019s new head coach and general manager. <\/p>\n
\u201cPatterson joins the Eagles from the Nanaimo Clippers, where he served as Associate Head Coach. His coaching resume also includes a season as an assistant with the WHL\u2019s Vancouver Giants, two years as GM and Head Coach of the VIJHL\u2019s Port Alberni Bombers, BCHL experience with the Alberni Valley Bulldogs, and three seasons with the SJHL\u2019s La Ronge Ice Wolves,\u201d the Twitter post shared.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a player, Patterson spent four seasons with the WHL\u2019s Saskatoon Blades, including back-to-back campaigns of 57 and 59 points. He went on to a 12-year pro career that took him from the AHL\u2019s Abbotsford Heat to the ECHL with Utah and Idaho, then overseas to Norway, France, and the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Surrey Eagles head coach and general manager David Rutherford has parted ways with the British Columbia Hockey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":957051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-957050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=957050"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/957050\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/957051"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=957050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=957050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=957050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}