The Wranglers named Brett Sutter to temporarily take over coaching duties from interim head coach Joe Cirella Friday.
Cirella underwent routine eye surgery Friday and was advised to take a leave of absence of two weeks to recover.
In the meantime, Sutter will take over head coaching duties for the club, with Martin Gelinas on hand as interim assistant coach along with Flames player development staff member Michael Stone, who will join the Wranglers until Cirella is able to return to duty.
Cirella took over the job in late December, when head coach Trent Cull temporarily joined the Calgary Flames coaching staff. Cull stepped in for assistant coach Brad Larsen, who was granted an indefinite leave of absence for family reasons.
That means Sutter will represent Team Pacific and the Wranglers at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic next week in Coachella Valley.
Sutter played 17 seasons, was a captain for 10 and retired in 2024 after playing 1,090 career AHL games, scoring 198 goals and 463 points.
He was the captain of the Western Conference team at the 2018 AHL All-Star Classic.
The Wranglers currently lead the American Hockey League with 58 points. They’re in Abbotsford this weekend, to take on the Canucks.
