It wasn’t surprising, given that Kyle Gustafson had paid his dues, but when the Portland Winterhawks hockey team named the native Portlander their new head coach in July, he felt great pride and emotion.
“I thought about my dad, and what his thoughts would have been,” said Gustafson, of the late Tom Gustafson, an important person in the history of youth hockey in Portland.
“I thought about the years of dedication to one organization (Winterhawks), and the pride of just being a Portlander — no one from Portland or Oregon has been a WHL coach,” he added, of the Western Hockey League, one of three major-junior leagues — the highest level for aspiring pros, along with college hockey — in North America.
“And I felt like this was just the beginning. I gotta continue to learn and grow. I have a chance, but I have to grow and learn.”
The Winterhawks open their season Sept. 20 at Kamloops, and play their home opener Oct. 4 against Victoria at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. There’ll be Gustafson coaching from the bench, but as the man in charge.
The 43-year-old Gustafson, a 1999 Centennial High School graduate, possesses quite a local sports success story.
Hockey being Canada’s favorite sport, and a big deal in Europe and throughout northern states, to have somebody from Portland reaching a high level just doesn’t happen very often. Like Gustafson, Matt Bardsley, a Sunset High grad, worked his way up and became Spokane Chiefs general manager. Paul Gaustad, Beaverton High grad, played for the Winterhawks and for years in the National Hockey League. Josh Dye, a Cleveland High grad, worked as a Winterhawks scout and then, as a scout, was part of two two NHL Stanley Cup championship teams with the Tampa Bay Lightning. And, Gustafson’s brother, the goalie Derek, played 10 years in the pros and briefly in the NHL.
Kyle Gustafson played for the Portland Junior Hawks, a top local program that his his father founded. After attending a New England prep school, he competed at a junior level with a Eugene team. He recalls, “I got to a point in my playing career that if I wanted to stay in the game, it wasn’t going to be as a player, it was going to be in coaching.” Coaches told him that he had the smarts and leadership abilities.
Gustafson coached the highly successful Eugene team, all the while keeping in touch with then-Winterhawks coach Mike Williamson.
He was hired as a part-time Winterhawks assistant coach in 2003, specializing in video. Other than one year with the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks, having joined the former Hawk assistant’s Travis Green’s staff, Gustafson has been with the Winterhawks since then, climbing to the level of associate head coach and assistant general manager under Mike Johnston.
Through it all, Gustafson has seen highs – such as being part of a Memorial Cup team in 2013 — and lows — such as woeful teams under bad ownership in the late 2000s. Through four ownership groups, Gustafson has survived.
“I’ve seen the good, the bad and the ugly, that’s for sure,” he said. “I feel fortunate that I survived those transitions. Those experiences set me up for where I am today.
“We’ve had some veteran teams and had a young core that needed to be developed, and we’ve had to take different approaches. I understand the Winterhawks culture and the league itself and how it works. I have a lot of colleagues in the WHL. I’ve been very fortunate to stay in one place. Coaching shelf life is not that long, and I feel fortunate to be where I am.”
His one year in the NHL, 2021-22, was tumultuous. Green was fired and Gustafson was retained, but it wasn’t the best situation.
“It was like getting a PhD in the sport,” Gustafson said. “Seeing the best players, and what makes them special. It gave me a lot of confidence when I came back to Portland.”
Gustafson returned to the Hawks staff. He had other WHL head coaching offers, and some assistant offers from the minor-league American Hockey League, but he has enjoyed such a great tenure in Portland and relationship with Johnston, who had befriended the Gustafson family. He felt compelled to stay here. Johnston, who attained more than 500 wins in 13 seasons, promoted Gustafson to head coach, and will remain as team president and general manager.
“I certainly feel like I’m ready,” Gustafson said. “(Mike's) been patient with me and teaching me the ins and outs of the game. To have him in my corner, I couldn’t ask for anything better. I call him a mentor, but he’s more like a father figure.
“When I came back from Vancouver, I had opportunities in different markets, different jobs, but it was important to pick up Mike’s legacy. That’s something I don’t take lightly.”
Gustafson has a wife, Tonya, a former figure skater, and twin 7-year-olds — daughter Charlotte, son Callum, who both play hockey. The family lives in Camas, Washington.
As a leader in Portland’s hockey community, Gustafson tells young players all the time to reach for the stars.
“Portland being a nontraditional hockey market, there’s a special culture of Portlanders who take hockey very seriously,” he said. “What I try to do is give back and educate kids. ‘Just because you’re from Portland doesn’t mean you don’t have a future in hockey.’ My hockey school is designed for that. ‘You can make it.’
“You pay our dues. And you’re gonna have good days and bad days.”
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