By Carolina Jr. Hurricanes Staff and Joshua Boyd
The Carolina Jr. Hurricanes are very excited to announce their new assistant coach for their USPHL Premier and USPHL Elite teams: Jr. Canes alum C.J. Stucky.
“I’m very excited C.J. accepted our offer to coach both teams alongside me this year and hopefully years to come. I’ve known C.J. for a long time and his passion for the game is what stands out the most to me. I recruited C.J. many years ago for a reason,” said Jr. Canes Premier/Elite Head Coach Brad Gaylord. “The character of this young man is incredible. He’s honest, respectful, trustworthy and humble. He was the first person I thought of when I made my list of possible assistant coaches, and I couldn’t be happier that he accepted. Our players, families, and fans will soon see why I wanted C.J. to be a part of our staff. Welcome back!”
A 2002-born native of Everett, Wash., Stucky joined the Jr. Canes Premier team in 2021-22 and remained with the team through the 2022-23 season. He scored 54 points in 69 games over the course of his career, which saw him put up 38 points in 39 games in his final season. He closed his career as a USPHL Premier Southeast Division All-Star.
“Coming into the Jr. Canes organization three years ago I fell in love with the city of Raleigh and the community it brought me as a young hockey player,” said Stucky. “The loyalty and passion the Jr. Canes showed me for my two seasons playing made it very hard to think of myself playing or working for any other organization.
“I spent this last hockey season as the assistant equipment manager for the Seattle Kraken. Through my experience with the Kraken faculty, I began to think about getting into coaching. When my contract was nearing its end, I reached out to Brad and talked about life and discussed where I wanted to end up. He told me I should come back to North Carolina and be his assistant coach,” Stucky added. “I am beyond ready to use all of my knowledge from playing and working in the industry into being a great coach this upcoming season. I am thankful for Brad Gaylord and the Jr. Canes giving me this opportunity, and I am excited to work and learn from him. The Jr. Canes family is an amazing program to be a part of and I am grateful to be back with them.”
The USPHL joins the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes in congratulating C.J. Stucky on being named as USPHL Premier and USPHL Elite Assistant Coach for the Jr. Canes.
