Calgary Wranglers hire former Canucks assistant and longtime AHL head coach Trent Cull

The Calgary Flames just can’t stop copying the Vancouver Canucks.

As the three year anniversary of the Flames scooping up Chris Tanev and Jacob Markstrom in free agency approaches, the club announced their new hiring for their AHL head coaching position: Trent Cull.

Cull, 49, coached the Utica Comets from 2017-2021 and was the first head coach in Abbotsford Canucks history for the team’s inaugural 2022 season. Upon the hiring of Jeremy Colliton as Abbotsford’s bench boss, Cull was promoted to the Canucks’ bench at the NHL level before being let go along with Bruce Boudreau in January.

The Wranglers announced Cull’s hiring on Monday afternoon.

“We are pleased to welcome Trent to the Flames family as the head coach of the Calgary Wranglers,” said Flames Vice President and Assistant General Manager Brad Pascall. “He provides significant head coaching experience and 19 years behind the bench in total with the OHL, AHL and most recently the NHL. Trent understands the development role of coaching in the AHL and has had success progressing many young players’ journey to the NHL.”

Cull joins the Flames’ organization with plenty of experience as both a coach and player under his belt. He’s been behind the bench fairly continuously since 2004, primarily in the American Hockey League. Prior to joining the Canucks’ organization in 2017, Cull was an assistant coach with the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch for eight seasons; first in 2006 through 2010, and then again in 2013 through 2017 after a brief stint with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves from 2010-13. He was also an assistant coach with the OHL’s Guelph Storm from 2004-06.