Lethbridge Hurricanes axe head coach Drake Berehowsky

Job security isn’t exactly a part of a coaching job description in the Western Hockey League. The Lethbridge Hurricanes became the third team this year to fire their head coach on Tuesday by relieving Drake Berehowsky of his coaching duties. Berehowsky joins Troy Ward, fired by Vancouver, and Cory Clouston, let go by Prince Albert, as WHL coaches looking for work.

It wasn’t a question of if Berehowsky would lose his job, but rather when. His 18-74-5-4 record throughout his season and a half with the Hurricanes combined with a 6-19-3-1 start to this year practically sealed his fate. In addition, he had handful of players, including premier talents like star blueliner Ryan Pilon and Minnesota Wild prospect Reid Duke, ask for trades under his watch. It seems being on a rebuilding team and entitlement had something to do with the trade requests, but one would have to be naïve to think Berehowsky’s coaching style didn’t play a major role in their decisions. He wasn’t exactly known to be a player’s coach.

By making no one available to the media and a 48-word press release, the Hurricanes did their best to release as little information as possible about the firing. It is believed, however, that assistant coach Bryan Maxwell will be the club’s interim bench boss until they find a permanent replacement.

Whoever takes over behind the bench will need to be patient. The Hurricanes are in the midst of trying to rebuild a rebuild because of the trade requests of Pilon, Duke and other former building blocks. But there is hope for a brighter future with star rookie goalie Stuart Skinner and prized 2014 bantam pick Jordan Bellerive in their arsenal.

The firing seems warranted, but it’s not as though Berehowsky is the only one to blame within the organization. Behind the bench only scratches the surface of the problems in Lethbridge. Look no further than how the Hurricanes missed the playoffs the four previous seasons under his predecessor Rich Preston for proof of that. It shows that Berehowsky jumped on a sinking ship, albeit he did seem to accelerate it into an iceberg.

General manager Brad Robson is without question responsible for some of the blame in Lethbridge. His first big stamp on the team was the hiring of Berehowsky. Moreover, he has made some “questionable” trades such as sending Macoy Erkamps and Duke to the Brandon Wheat Kings for three depth players, although some of his moves have shown merit over time. It seems he will be hard-pressed to outlast Lethbridge's next bench boss.

The Hurricanes did make changes within their board of directors this past October when Doug Paisley replaced long-time president Brian McNaughton.This move appeared to be a step in the right direction, but the verdict is still out on whether it was enough to get the organization back on track in the management side of the game.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen