500th win sneaks up on long-time Powell River Kings coach

Press Release

Driving in the fast lane of what has been a remarkable BCHL coaching career, win number 500 was a milestone marker that Powell River Kings head coach Kent Lewis failed to see coming.

"I had no idea," said Lewis who reached 500 on Sunday, Feb. 13 in a 6-3 win over the Coquitlam Express. "I remember 300, I was coaching (current Kings associate coach) Chad Van Diemen at the time. "You get caught up in doing things right every day and things take care of themselves."

So caught up in the Kings' day-to-day process is Lewis that it took a phone call from club president Rob Villani to make the bench boss aware of what was coming.

"Our president phoned me and asked, 'Would you mind if we did something for you?' and I said, "For what?"

After Sunday's win, a small ceremony was held on the ice where Lewis received a commemorative plaque and a gift.

Becoming a coach was a recommendation made by one of his former coaches when Lewis was finishing his playing career.

"At our exit interviews, he said a lot of guys should go on and play hockey but with me he suggested coaching, which meant I was a (retired) hockey player," recalled Lewis with a laugh.

Lewis joins a select group of BCHL coaches with 500 wins that includes only Nanaimo's Bill Bestwick and Langley's Harvey Smyl. Lewis was quick to credit those around him for helping him get to where he is now.

"This has been a great group of kids," he said. "Anybody in this position, there's so many factors that go into it; the coaches and trainers, they make it possible."

Now going on 45 years old, the Powell River native knew he'd gotten into a good thing after a couple of years as an assistant with the team, then known as the Paper Kings. He was named head coach in 1990.

"I was pretty young, not yet 24, but I knew it was a great place to coach, it was my home town," he said. "The game is a pretty neat way to go about your life."

Lewis earned 28 of his wins in 1999-00 when he coached one season in Nanaimo. He also coached part of another season in Victoria. He got win 501 Wednesday, a 4-1 victory over Salmon Arm.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)