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The Flint Firebirds announced via Twitter (@FlintFirebirds) on Wednesday that VP of hockey operations and general manager Barclay Branch has stepped down in pursuit of new opportunities and will not return for the 2021-22 season.
Branch, 45, guided the Firebirds to a club record 40-win season in 2019-20, a 24-win and 44-point improvement from the team’s finish at the bottom of the Western Conference standings in 2018-19.
The Firebirds would like to thank Barclay Branch for everything he has helped accomplished here in Flint! We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors. pic.twitter.com/o0mFg0PQqT
— Flint Firebirds (@FlintFirebirds) May 19, 2021
The Whitby, Ont. native spent the past four years with the Firebirds, originally being named to the position at the outset of the 2017-18 campaign.
Prior to his time in Flint, Branch served as general manger of the Sudbury Wolves over two seasons from 2015-17. He was the long-time assistant general manager and director of player personnel of the Belleville Bulls from 2004-15 and prior to that, served in a combination of roles including assistant coach, director of scouting and director of player development with the Oshawa Generals from 2000-04. Internationally, Branch has prior experience as a regional scout with Hockey Canada’s National Under-17 program.
