Longtime McGill men’s hockey coach Kelly Nobes dies at 45

McGill University Redmen head coach Kelly Nobes looks on as his team takes oEn Carleton in 2014. (Liam Richards/CP)

MONTREAL — Kelly Nobes, the longtime McGill men’s hockey coach who was named U Sports’ coach of the year for the 2017-18 season, has died at age 45.

The school confirmed Nobes’ death Thursday in an email.

The native of West Hill, Ont., joined McGill in April 2010 and guided the team to its first University Cup title in 2012.

A McGill physical education graduate, Nobes was named OUA East coach of the year in 2010-11 — his first season with McGill, when he guided the club to a team-record 38 wins — as well as 2017-18, when he led McGill to a 22-4-2 regular-season record and an OUA conference title. McGill was upset 4-1 by Saskatchewan in the opening round of the Canadian championship tournament.

Prior to joining McGill, Nobes coached the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks to a 77-34-1 regular-season mark over four seasons.

He began his Canadian varsity coaching career with Royal Military College, leading the Paladins to a 32-81-7 record. His 32 coaching wins are the most in school history.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.