SPOKANE, Wash. — Once again, the Spokane Chiefs are in the market for a new head coach. Once again, it's because their head coach made the jump to the professional ranks.
Manny Viveiros is leaving the team after one season to coach the Henderson Silver Knights. The Silver Knights are the AHL affiliate of the Las Vegas Golden Knights. He will be the team's first head coach as they head into their inaugural season.
"I would like to thank so many people from the Chiefs," said Viveiros in a press release. "The executives from Bobby and Kathy Brett to Scott Carter, Mark Miles and Jim Hammett. Thank you to my coaching staff including Adam Maglio, Adam Deadmarsh and Dustin Donaghy, as well as Joe Hurley, Tim Lindblade and Chris Baird for all their hard work. From top to bottom, everyone in the organization and in Spokane as a whole welcomed us into the Chiefs family and made our time here so memorable.
"Even more importantly, I'd like to thank the players that I had the chance to coach last season. Having the opportunity to watch them mature and develop throughout the year was a pleasure and means so much more than wins and losses."
The Spokane Chiefs were one of the WHL's hottest teams before COVID-19 shut their season down. They had won ten straight games and were looking to make a deep run in the playoffs. The team finished with a 41-18-4-1 record.
Viveiros becomes the second Spokane Chiefs head coach in two years to head to a professional team. Viveiros' predecessor, Dan Lambert, joined the Nashville Predators as an assistant for the 2019-2020 season.
