Rich Matvichuk Named General Manager and Co-Head Coach of Phoenix Inferno

PHOENIX, Arizona — The Phoenix Inferno and Fire ‘n’ Ice Arena are proud to announce that Rich Matvichuk has been named General Manager and Co-Head Coach of the Phoenix Inferno, the newest expansion team in the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL). Matvichuk will lead the club into its inaugural 2026-27 season alongside President and Co-Head Coach Troy Mick.

Matvichuk arrives in Phoenix with one of the most complete résumés in Tier III junior hockey: 796 NHL games as a shutdown defenseman, a Stanley Cup ring, championships as a professional executive, and head-coaching stops in both the ECHL and the Western Hockey League.

From Eighth Overall to Stanley Cup Champion

A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Matvichuk was one of the most coveted defensemen of his draft class. After three seasons with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades — where he posted 35 goals and 100 assists in 182 games, was named the WHL’s Defenceman of the Year as winner of the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy, and earned WHL East First All-Star Team honors in 1992 — he was selected eighth overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound left shot went on to play 14 NHL seasons with Minnesota, the Dallas Stars and the New Jersey Devils, recording 39 goals and 139 assists in 796 regular season games, plus another 24 points in 123 playoff games. He was a fixture on the Dallas blue line for more than a decade and played an integral role on the Stars’ 1999 Stanley Cup championship team — the only Cup in franchise history — logging the hardest minutes against the opposition’s best players.

Internationally, Matvichuk represented Canada at the 1992 World Junior Championship and the 2002 IIHF World Championship.

Building a Coaching Résumé

Back injuries ended Matvichuk’s playing career following the 2007-08 season. He stepped away from the game entirely for four years, serving as a firefighter in British Columbia, before returning to hockey in 2012 as Assistant General Manager and assistant coach of the Central Hockey League’s Allen Americans — a role in which he helped guide the club to back-to-back league championships.

That success led to his first head-coaching job with the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks in 2014, where he also served as Director of Hockey Operations. In 2015-16, his second season behind the bench, the Mavericks posted a 52-15-5 record and captured the Brabham Cup as the ECHL’s regular season champions. Matvichuk was named ECHL Coach of the Year, winning the John Brophy Award, and also received the league’s inaugural Hockey Executive of the Year honor.

In June 2016 he was named the 12th head coach in the history of the WHL’s Prince George Cougars, spending nearly three seasons developing major-junior prospects at hockey’s highest junior level.

A Dual Role in Phoenix

As General Manager, Matvichuk will oversee player personnel, recruiting, and roster construction for the Inferno, working alongside the club’s scouting staff. As Co-Head Coach, he will share bench duties with Troy Mick, giving the Inferno two former professional players and experienced junior coaches leading the group day to day.

The structure also strengthens the connection between the SSS Phoenix Hockey Academy and the NA3HL club, ensuring that players moving up the pathway encounter consistent standards, systems, and expectations at every level.

What It Means for Inferno Players

Matvichuk’s approach is built on accountability, defensive detail, and preparation — the same habits that kept him in the NHL for 14 seasons. Inferno players will train out of Fire ‘n’ Ice Arena’s two NHL-size rinks and elite performance facilities, with development and advancement to Tier II, NCAA, and ACHA programs as the stated goal.