It was announced on Monday that Prince Albert Mintos Head Coach Doan Smith has stepped down from the role, and is no longer with the team. Here, Smith is seen watching the play behind the bench as the Mintos face off with the Swift Current Legionnaires at the Art Hauser Centre on Feb. 23, 2025. (Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

By Logan Lehmann

AAA Hockey

Mintos Head Coach Doan Smith steps down after one year at the helm

Mar 19, 2025 | 4:19 PM

It’s been nearly two weeks since the Prince Albert Mintos were eliminated from the Sask. Male AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) playoffs and the team is wasting no time in getting down to business in preparing for next season.

One of the big changes was announced via social media on Monday, stating the club’s Head Coach Doan Smith has stepped down from the role and is no longer with the team.

Smith guided the Mintos to a 22-20-2 record (W-L-OTL) this past season en route to a playoff appearance, where P.A. was swept in the first round by the Regina Pat Canadians in a best-of-three series.

Mintos General Manager Kalen Wright said the organization wishes him well.

“He let us know shortly after we were eliminated by Regina,” Wright explained. “It was his decision to find employment elsewhere.”

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Although Smith’s future is unclear, the former Mintos head coach was spotted on the bench for the Prince Albert Raiders alongside Interim Head Coach Ryan McDonald during their 3-1 win over the Moose Jaw Warriors on Tuesday at the Art Hauser Centre.

“Before our season ended, he said he’d be joining them,” said Wright. “It’s a good jump for him and good experience – I don’t know exactly what he’s going to do for them.”

No official announcement on Smith joining the Raiders has been made as of Wednesday.

As a result of Smith’s departure, Wright said the team will put out a call for a new head coach.

“I’ve done this far too many times to be honest. In the five or six years I’ve been doing this, this will be the fourth head coach and third process of hiring one. So first and foremost, we’d like a little continuity at that position – someone that’s going to be here for a while and we can kind of set down standards and strategies and recruiting efforts and everything kind of thing. As of right now, I mean, we’ve only met with the board briefly on Monday and the plan will be to put out a process where everyone can apply.”

He added he hopes to find a replacement for Smith within the next month before the start of spring camp in April.

“That would be the best case scenario.”

The young offseason has also seen the Mintos add some new faces to the roster for next season as four players have committed to the team.

The team signed four affiliated players from the past season in Madden Dell, Sean Lavoie, Beau Anholt, and Jakob Schmidt. Despite the signings, Wright said the Mintos still have shoes to fill.

“They all had phenomenal years and they were all AP’d with us so we got to see them quite a bit,” he said referring to the four newest signees. “A little bit younger than we went this year, kind of hoping to put in a bit of a two-year plan. With so many older guys and the number of guys signing in Junior, we have a lot of spots open, especially up front. We have the potential to have 11 new forwards next season.”

As mentioned previously, the Mintos are getting set to host their spring camp next month, scheduled for April 17-18 at the soon-to-open Lake Country Leisure Centre. The player commitment period opens on April 15.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

On Bluesky: @loganlehmann.bsky.social