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WHL assistant coach with Okanagan ties suspended for 'insensitive language'

Carter Rigby played for the Kelowna Rockets and Penticton Vees
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Carter Rigby file photo from 2015, before continuing his hockey career in the Canadian Inter-university Sport with the University of Prince Edward Island Panthers.

An assistant coach with the Western Hockey League’s (WHL) Prince George Cougars, who has ties to the Okanagan, has been suspended.

A WHL media release states that Carter Rigby has been suspended three games for violating the league’s standards of conduct, specifically pertaining to the use of insensitive language. The release did not state what the language was.

Rigby is from Penticton, and according to the Elite Prospects website, played for the Cougars from 2009-2011, the Penticton Vees of the BC Hockey League in 2010-2011 and the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets from 2011-2015. The Cougars announced Rigby as assistant coach in Sept. 2022.

Rigby’s suspension takes effect Friday, Sept 20. He will be eligible to return to the bench when Prince George plays the Wenatchee Wild on Sept. 29.

The WHL stated it will not provide further comment on the suspension.



Gary Barnes

About the Author: Gary Barnes

Journalist and broadcaster for three decades.
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