It's a new beginning for Manny Viveiros.

After 26 seasons as a player, coach or manager in Europe he is moving permanently back to Canada as the new Head Coach and Director of Player Personnel for the Swift Current Broncos.

"Having played in Prince Albert where my wife is from where we spent many years living in Saskatchewan we're so excited about returning," Viveiros said. "We've been over in Europe for almost 25 years and said eventually we would like to come back to North America. It's a prestigious opportunity and a prestigious job to have. We're ecstatic about this opportunity."

Viveiros separated himself from 32 strong candidates that forced the Broncos board of directors to really take their time in coming to a consensus.

"My sense in talking to some of the more experienced board members is that we had a much greater increase in applicants," said Broncos chairman Liam Choo-Foo. "32 applicants and the quality was much higher this time. We went through five interviews and they were all outstanding. It was really hard. It was then a second round of reference checking and sometimes a third round of reference checking that separated the candidates."

The board dug deep in finding as many references as they could using their contacts and some they were able to get from former Coach/GM Mark Lamb. As they got further along in the process they discovered the responses to Viveiros were consistent.

"The more we spoke to people the more we were convinced," Choo-Foo said. "He's a winner as a player and as a coach. As we talked to opponent coaches and former players we just kept getting the same answers about the character and quality of person he is. Past success is usually a better predictor of future success. As we dug deeper he just continued to rise further and further to the top."

Viveiros has only ever coached in Europe and isn't concerned there will be a major transition.

"Hockey is hockey," he said. "Systems are systems and the majority of all the goals are scored between the hash marks. You may have a second more to make a play over in Europe but the North American influence is so great that the systems and the coaching staff is so incorporated in the style of European hockey."

"The ice surface is a little bit smaller, but it's just going to be a couple system adjustments nothing major."

Viveiros coached in the Austrian men's league, German men's league and for the Austrian national team. He hasn’t specifically been a junior coach but has worked with young players.

"I've had experience over the years of always having a couple players that are 18 or 19-years old," Viveiros noted. "Also I was in charge of working with an organization in Austria where I was in charge of the whole program so I spent a lot of time on the ice with young kids. For something like that I don't think it would be a major adjustment at all."

Different sources have singled out his ability to connect with people. That's a big part of how the St. Albert native identifies himself as a coach.

"I consider myself a communicator," Viveiros said. "I believe that dealing with young men who are away from home you have to be more involved than just being a hockey coach. You have to be a role model, a mentor, you have to know what's going on in their lives away from the rink... they're under a lot of pressure so you have to be there all the time for these young men and understand what they're going through. I'm very vocal with my players in practice and I'm very active in practice. I'm a fair coach but also help hold these kids accountable. I'm not afraid to let our kids make mistakes. They're not going to be punished for those types of mistakes they're going to have an opportunity to get out and correct those mistakes, but still hold these kids accountable."

Outside of his ability to communicate, Viveiros plans to bring a puck possession style game to the Credit Union iPlex. He's not a fan of passive hockey.

"We're going to have a team that's going to be very, very aggressive in the way we play," Viveiros said. "My philosophy in hockey you've got to try and get the puck back as quick as possible. The teams that sit back to often allow the other team to control and dictate the game. We would like to be in control and dictate the pace of the game. We want players who can skate and be active all the time. You never give up on pucks... we're never backing off."

"Obviously you have to be very structured and it's going to take the kids a while to understand it, but they're bright young kids and they've been coached very well so I don't think it's going to be a very difficult transition for them."

The Broncos have lightened the level of responsibility Viveiros will handle versus previous coaches in Swift Current. However, as Director of Player Personnel he will still be responsible for trades and constructing the roster. Getting to know the league is something a coach who has been working in Europe for two decades will need some time to work at.

"I'm not naive to think I can come in and know everything throughout the league," Viveiros said. "That's why I have to rely so much on the staff on our hockey club and I told Mark Lamb we have to have a direct line because I'm going to use him as a resource as much as possible. I'm fortunate enough that I know some people in the league that are good friends that also said I can call them to get myself up to speed. My decisions will not be made alone by any means. It's going to be collective decisions as a team. We're going to make a sound and very patient decision."

"I don't think an organization has to make a lot of trades. I think when you invest in these young kids coming in it's our responsibility to get the most out of them and develop them. There may be situations where you have to make trades but I'm a firm believer when you draft these kids you make a commitment to them."

He also got to keep an eye on the league as his son Layne Viveiros recently spent four seasons with the Portland Winterhawks before going to play in Austria himself.

It didn't take any convincing to lure an experienced coach like Viveiros to the CHL's smallest market.

"It became clearly evident how much he wanted to be here," Choo-Foo noted. "This is a person who really targeted our organization and wants to be part of our community."

Swift Current's new coach also isn't afraid of some tough questions when he is out on the town.

"My wife and I and our family consider ourselves small city people," Viveiros said. "I think it's so important to the community that we get out there. (We) are looking forward to getting actively involved. I really enjoy listening to fans and people that want to talk hockey. To me that's not work."

The Broncos have at times had to battle to get all the top available talent to commit to their program. Viveiros doesn't think the market size is necessarily a big hindrance in that process.

"It doesn't matter the size of the city or how much money the organization has," he said. "To me the most important thing is the quality of the organization and how it's run. Swift Current is professionally run from the board on down. I've done my homework on them. Also I think it's the quality of the staff and the hockey operations. Parents and agents if they know they're going to a good organization where the coaches are quality coaches putting the time and effort to develop these kids they're going to send these kids there. If they know their young sons are going to get an opportunity to get to the next level they're going to put them in these places."

Viveiros is a man who is used to success. He has won championships as a player in the WHL, AHL and in Austria. As a coach he won another Austrian league championship. So what does it take to be a champion?

"First and foremost is a team mentality," Viveiros noted. "That was always the main point of having success was how strong that team was as a unit. It's not necessarily when things go well but when things don't go well. The character within the room and the kids we have in the room have to be able to handle adversity and that comes from the coaching staff. It's not just one line or two lines, if you're going to win a championship you're going to need every kid on the roster contributing."

The Broncos are still aiming for a championship or at least a long playoff run. That doesn't mean they expect Viveiros to deliver one instantly.

"Every organization wants to win," Choo-Foo said. "It's one thing to say it and one thing to be able to do it. There's a lot of pieces that have to be put in place before you can get that big win. We're not looking for the small wins. We're not looking to set a record for making the playoffs and getting bounced out in the first round. Having said that we believe that we are starting to get loaded up enough in a few years to be able to do that."

Viveiros is also willing to be patient to a point.

"We're in this business to win," he noted. "We're going to be patient, but we're also going to install that attitude within these kids that if we have success as a group they will have success as individuals.  I'm not a very patient man as far as waiting too long. We want to win as fast as possible, but we also understand how difficult it can be."

Viveiros and his wife will be in Swift Current next weekend house hunting. He expects to be in the city permanently within the next ten days and is already starting to prepare for training camp.