Smith new Broncos associate coach

Ryan Smith is jumping from one horse to the next.

The now former head coach of the SJHL's Humboldt Broncos is joining the WHL's Swift Current Broncos as the team's new associate coach.

"I talked to different people on how he treats his players, the respect he has for his players and the respect they had for him," said Broncos Coach/GM Mark Lamb. "I was talking to a few guys and when it came down to having to make a decision he always won out."

"I talked to different people that I really trusted and everybody kept coming up with the same thing... that he's a very smart hockey game, he's ran his own teams, he's made his teams better and he's a great person and great with kids."

"We talked a lot," Lamb said. "Not only myself but I had (assistant coach) Jamie Heward talked to him and I thought that was really important to let him ask Heward questions about me and how I run things."

"A lot of the things I preach and that I do he has done also."

Smith spent one season with Humboldt after a five year run as the Coach/GM of the MJHL's Selkirk Steelers.

Humboldt President Jamie Brockman told discoverhumbolt.com they had nothing but gratitude for Smith despite his short time with the team..

"He went all in and we understood that one day this would come," Brockman said. "I guess we maybe never thought it would be this quick. We definitely understand the situation, he can't pass it up and we don't want to get in the way of realizing his goals."

Smith took Selkirk to top spot in the MJHL and had them ranked second in the country.

He is a two-time MJHL all-star coach, a former MJHL coach of the year and a runner up for the CJHL coach of the year award.

Smith's playing career included a brief stint with the WHL's Seattle Thunderbirds and several years of pro hockey in Germany.

He joins Swift Current after former associate coach Josh Dixon stepped down earlier this summer for a job with CAA.