Although it's been all-but-confirmed over the last few days, the Calgary Flames made the hiring of Ryan Huska as the franchise's next head coach official on Monday.

“Following a detailed search process, today we are proud to introduce Ryan Huska as Head Coach of the Calgary Flames,” team general manager Craig Conroy said. “While continuity and familiarity are a benefit, we have witnessed first-hand Ryan's work ethic; he is a clear communicator who builds trust with his players; and he's a critical thinker with a plan.

“Ryan provides 11 seasons of bench experience as a head coach from the WHL and the AHL and over 20 years coaching in total, including knowledge gained as an assistant coach in Calgary for the past five seasons. Ryan has earned this opportunity and we are confident he is the right coach for our team.”

Huska becomes the 24th coach in Flames history after serving as an assistant since 2018. He began his journey in Calgary when he was appointed the head coach of the Flames' American Hockey League affiliate in Adirondack.

In four years in the AHL, he compiled a 135-118-27 record, coaching current Flames Rasmus Andersson, Andrew Mangiapane and Oliver Kylington in the process.

“I'm honoured to have earned the trust of Flames ownership, of Craig and the entire management group to coach this team,” Huska said after being hired. “My position coming into this is a little different than most as I know our players very well. We have good people in our dressing room, excellent hockey players who want to win. My job is to inspire them every single day to help get our team to the next level.”

Overall, Ryan Huska has been coaching for over 20 years, beginning as an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League in 2002.

The 47-year-old is a former NHL player himself, being drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1993 NHL Draft and playing between 1995-2000.

He will now look to help the Calgary Flames win their first Stanley Cup since 1989.