Ontario Junior Hockey League Coach of the Year Rob Pearson of the Pickering Panthers has been named the recipient of ​​the Darcy Haugan/Mark Cross Memorial Award, emblematic of Canadian Junior Hockey League Coach of the Year for 2021-22, the CJHL announced today. (Photo by Spencer Smye / OJHL Images)

This honour, presented annually by the CJHL and NHLCA, is in memory of Humboldt Broncos (SJHL) head coach Darcy Haugan and assistant Mark Cross, who were among those who sadly lost their lives following the tragic events of April 6, 2018.

“I'm a little overwhelmed,” Pearson said after being informed of the national honour today. “Pretty excited and honoured. It’s a great feeling to be part of a championship team here.”

Pearson garnered the laurels over fellow coach of the year finalists: Ryan Papaioannou, Brooks Bandits (AJHL); Rick Dorval, Hawkesbury Hawks (CCHL); Laurie Barron, Yarmouth Jr. A Mariners (MHL); Brandon Perry, Timmins Rock (NOJHL) and Brayden Klimosko, Battlefords North Stars (SJHL), following a national voting process completed by each of the nine leagues that comprise the CJHL.

“One of the main responsibilities of our Association is to support the development of the next generation of NHL coaches,” said Michael Hirshfeld, Executive Director of the NHLCA. “Coaches are important leaders within their communities, serving as role models at every level of the game. Alongside our members, we are committed to supporting them both on and off the ice.”

Pearson, 51, led the Panthers to the OJHL Nutrafarms Championship Series title Sunday night in Toronto. The Panthers are travelling to the Centennial Cup national championship tournament in Estevan, Saskatchewan today. They play in the opening game of the event Thursday afternoon.

The Panthers will also be recognized with a CAD $5,000 contribution to their team on behalf of the NHLCA as well as CAD $5,000 worth of Bauer Hockey equipment.

“The hockey community extends beyond players and goalkeepers. It includes parents, trainers, officials and many others who help make our game exciting and teach life lessons through sports,” said Mary-Kay Messier, VP of Global Marketing, Bauer Hockey. “Coaches play such an important role in shaping tomorrow’s leaders and using hockey to build character on and off the ice. We are proud to work with the NHL Coaches’ Association and recognize the immense value coaches provide to our game.”

This year’s CJHL Coach of the Year award will be formally presented virtually during the NHLCA’s Global Coaches’ Clinic, which is taking place online the week of June 13-17. 

Pearson and his entire coaching staff will be invited, as honourary guests, to take part in the upcoming Online Clinic. 

Additionally, Pearson will be invited as a special guest of the NHLCA to attend the in-person clinic taking place on July 7 in Montreal prior to the NHL Draft®.

The Panthers won the OJHL North Division regular season championship during both of Pearson’s seasons in Pickering. This season, the Panthers (39-11-0-4) had the second best record in the 21-team league.

Pearson was named head coach and general manager in Pickering  two games into the 2019-20 season

The retired NHL player had come off a two-year stint with Durham rival the Whitby Fury (now the Haliburton County Huskies) where his teams had a 51-49-5-3 regular season record and 7-6 playoff record.

The Oshawa product was a first-round draft pick (12th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1989 NHL Draft. He played 10 seasons professionally, including NHL stints with Toronto, Washington and St. Louis.

After retiring from playing, Pearson first coached at the U SPORTS level, with Ontario Tech in his hometown of Oshawa, serving as an assistant to veteran Canadian and U.S. college coach Marlin Muylaert for two seasons beginning in 2008,

He was later an assistant coach in the Whitby Fury AAA organization, where his son and future OJHLer, Luke, played goal.

Pearson says he learned a lot from other coaches, from his days playing minor hockey in Oshawa all the way to the NHL.

“I had some great coaches along the way,” he said before boarding the Panthers’ flight to Saskatchewan this morning. “In Toronto, I started with Doug Carpenter and Tom Watt and then Pat Burns came in. I was a young boy in a man’s game back then, just sitting back, watching and learning about everything that Pat did with an older team. 

“You move on and I go through Jim Schoenfeld and Mike Keenan. You just pick little parts of each coach and take your own path and develop your own style. I’ve done that, taking pieces from everyone who coached and just ran with it.”

When a new ownership and management team took over the Whitby franchise in the OJHL, Pearson was content to walk away from the bench.

“It was a great start for me coming into the OJ coming with the Fury,” Pearson said previously. “(After the ownership change), I was going to take a step back and take a few months off to regroup and think about where I wanted to go. (Pickering team owner) Richard Pilosof called me right away and I just knew Pickeirng was going to be a great fit.”

“And it’s been nothing but first class here. Richard has done an amazing job and I’m pretty proud to have been part of this organization and see how well it’s gone in the last three years. Even through the ups and downs of COVID, It’s still been fantastic.”

Pearson said he knew and respected the Panthers organization before coming onboard. He is Business Elite Manager with the Boyer Auto Group, which is the title sponsor of the Panthers.

Pearson loves coaching Jr. A hockey.

“There's a lot of things you can do for kids at this level,” he said. “There are kids who have been dropped down from the OHL who have had great OHL careers. How do you guide them? By saying, ‘It’s not over. This is just a step in your career.’ We’ve got great Canadian universities where most of them are going to now.”

“And the younger ones that are coming  up. Maybe they’re just one step behind or are late bloomers, as they say in the hockey world. You have to teach them about patience and time and figuring out their own path.”

“It’s more than just the game on the ice. Kids are so smart these days. They know so much about the game. It’s now about working with them mentally off the ice so they can bring their A game onto the ice.”

“They’ll go through large bumps through the season and you have to help guide them through those issues. I know, I had a lot of issues through my playing time. You have to take the good and bad from them and tell them to keep striving: ‘It’s not anyone else’s goal, it’s your goal. And see if you can reach it’.”

​​ABOUT THE NHL COACHES’ ASSOCIATION (NHLCA): The NHL Coaches’ Association is a professional organization that provides support and assistance to the head, associate, assistant, goalie and video coaches of the 32 teams in the National Hockey League. Recognized and supported by the NHL, the NHLCA and its members seek to develop future coaches, give back to the hockey community, and grow the game of hockey globally. One of the Association’s primary objectives is to help develop all hockey coaches from the youth level up to the highest levels of hockey, as the NHLCA strongly believes that coaches are important leaders within their communities, serving as role models at every level of the game. Together, the NHLCA and their members are committed to supporting all coaches in their initiatives of guiding, motivating, and inspiring players of all ages.