Marr, Toma join Blazers as assistant coaches; Murray will not return

Blazers’ head coach and general manager Shaun Clouston said he started his hiring search in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL), noting the ability to connect with players graduating from its ranks was among pre-requisites for the jobs.

Marr, 41, was most recently director of hockey development for the North Shore Warriors of North Vancouver and head coach of its under-15 prep team, mentoring players such as Fraser Minten and Connor Bedard.

Clouston and Marr crossed paths in Medicine Hat and developed a strong relationship in the early 2000s, the former an assistant coach and the latter a defenceman for the Tigers.

“I was on the way to Salmon Arm and we were going to watch the B.C. showcase there before the draft [WHL Prospects Draft] and on my drive, I just thought of Steve Marr,” Clouston said. “I just thought, ‘You know, maybe he’ll be at this event. Maybe we’ll start up a conversation.’ And the first person I saw when I walked into the arena was Steve.”

“When we zeroed in on the qualities we were looking for, Steve was No. 1.”

After coming to terms with Marr, Clouston told him the club was also hiring Toma.

Marr informed Clouston of a connection to Toma.

“He tried to hire Brayden last year,” Clouston said.

Toma, 30, was head coach of the St. George School U18 prep team last season, but it was his prior stint as head coach of U15 Northern Alberta Xtreme – leading it to back-to-back championships in 2023 and 2024 — that first caught Clouston’s eye.

“[I was] thrilled with the way they were playing — their pace, positioning, work ethic, structure,” Clouston said. “His name did come up when we talked about things as an ownership group and it was kind of a neat little coincidence that he was somebody that we had thought about already.”

Toma said he teaches common-sense, conceptual hockey.

“Not as tight, forcing guys into a box, making them like robots,” Toma said. “I think it’s important that you encourage guys to play with instinct and play in a certain manner together. I think what maybe impressed them was the fact that our guys showed intelligence all over the ice, so they knew how to break pressure, they knew how to apply pressure.”

Don Hay was associate coach and Chris Murray was a part-time assistant coach for the Blazers last season, but neither will return for the 2025-2026 campaign.

“It was hard,” Clouston said of parting ways with Murray. “Chris is such a passionate person and he’s a terrific human being. He’s a fun-loving guy, hard-working guy.

“It’s just a little bit difficult with the part-time (arrangement). As a group, with management, with ownership, we discussed that and just felt that moving forward it becomes almost a necessity at this point to have two full-time guys.”

Marr is expected to run the defence and help out on the penalty kill, while Toma will spend more time with the forwards and power play.

“If you look at both Brayden and I coming from the CSSHL, it’s a pretty premier league with the top-end kids in Western Canada and having that experience with dealing with this generation is what really appealed to Shaun,” Marr said.

“I think our energy, our ability to build those relationships with the players, understanding that line between giving them a leash and that freedom to be creative and finding that balance where they buy into the habits and the details that coaches typically expect.”

by Marty Hastings

Marr, Toma join Blazers as assistant coaches; Murray will not return

This Week in Flyers

This Week in Flyers

Our Community