Where Are They Now - Josh Hepditch

Josh Hepditch #26

Today we continue our Allen Americans 10th Anniversary Series, Where Are They Now, by catching up with defenseman Josh Hepditch. Josh played only one year for the Americans. He was a rookie in 2011-12 and played in 58 games that season and had 18 points (10G, 8A). Josh had a distinguished amateur career. He was a champion as a junior playing in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and he was a three time champion in college. He was also selected as an Academic All Canadian player.


  If your ever spent time talking to Josh Hepditch you knew he had a plan for his career and you knew he would be successful. His college coach described what made Josh special, "Josh is the ultimate overachiever and he just keeps pushing the ceiling. He has been exceptional for us. The best thing about Josh Hepditch is his attitude and his professionalism. He is the ultimate team player. He finds ways to help the team on a regular basis whether it is in practice, preparation in the dressing room before a game or going over the game plan the night before."


If it sounds like Josh was like a coach in college it is because he decided in college he wanted to make coaching hockey his profession. He wanted to play pro hockey but his goal was to be a coach.

It didn't take Josh long to make the transition from pro hockey to coaching. After his rookie season in Allen he made the jump from playing to coaching. This is how Josh described the move. "I realized when I was in college I wanted to play at the highest levels for as long as I could. I tell everyone I meet the year I spent in Texas playing for the Allen Americans one one of the best years of my life. Being a professional in the hockey world is a great job but knowing I wanted to be a coach I told myself during the summer after my rookie season if I had a good opportunity I would take it and start my coaching career. I ran into my former coach from college and shared my goals with him and a few weeks later he told me about a great opportunity in Creston, British Columbia. I did my research, applied for the job and was lucky enough to be selected.


That was the start of Josh's coaching career. It was 2012-13 and he was the head coach and general manager of the Creston Valley Thunder Cats, a junior B team in Creston, British Columbia. He and his wife Kathryn were 3000 miles from home, living and working in a small town (less than 6000) just north of the Idaho border.


Here is an update from Josh in his own words:

Can you give us an update on you and your family?
Kathryn and I have been married for six years and we have two boys. Theodore is three and and Angus is six months. We have a dog named Gopher. He is a Jack Russell and is five years old. We are currently living in Moncton, New Brunswick where I an an the assistant coach for the Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. I just finished a stint as the interim head coach of the team. I look forward to working with our new head coach, John Torchetti, who has a great resume and tons of experience.

The Hepditch family - Gopher, Theodore, Josh, Kathryn and Angus

Fireman Theodore - Too cute

Angus Hepditch

Can you share with us a little about your hockey career as a player and coach?
I played my junior hockey for the Moncton Wildcats where I played for four years. I played three seasons with Bruce Graham and two with Adam Pineault and Christian Gaudet who all played in Allen. My last season in Moncton we won the Presidents Cup (QMJHL championship) and lost in the Memorial Cup finals. After junior hockey I went to the University of New Brunswick (UNB). I played there five years and was part of three national championship teams. I earned dual degrees at UNB in Kinesiology and Education.

After UNB I joined the Allen Americans for one season and then jumped right into my coaching career. I got the job of head coach and general manager of the Creston Valley Thunder Cats of the Kootenay International Hockey League so Kathryn and I moved to Creston, British Columbia for two years. We then moved Amherst, Nova Scotia where I was the head coach and general manager of the Amherst Ramblers of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League for one season and then took a job as the head coach and general manager with an expansion team, the St. Stephen Aces. I was with St. Stephen for two years before signing with the Moncton Wildcats. This is my second season with Moncton.


What are your hobbies if you get any time between coaching and family?
Hobbies for me is doing anything outside. I love to golf if I can find time but in the summer we try to spend as much family time as we can outside. We love to camp as much as we can, taking the dog through the trails or swimming. The nice thing about the Maritimes is it is very small so there are lots of nice places for weekend getaways.


What is your fondest memory of playing in Allen?
I would say the rivalry with the Brahmas was a great memory. It was nice having a close opponent which brought out good crowds and made games more exciting.


Who were your closest teammates in Allen?
When I was in Allen I made some great friends. We were already great friends with Bruce and Whitney Graham. Bruce and I coached together for one season in St. Stephen and Whitney now works on the business side of the Moncton Wildcats. We were also friends with Nick and Melissa Layton since I played with Nick at UNB. They are living in Ontario now but still come back to Moncton to visit family. I think we have gotten together almost every summer since we left Allen.

I also spent a lot of time with Colton Yellow Horn, Mike Berube and Jarrett Lukin. They were a great group and we had a lot of fun. I really do wish they were better golfers but you can't have it all...haha


There are several former Allen Americans players that have pursued a coaching career after their playing days were over. Josh Hepditch has gone about it the old fashioned way. He has been coaching for six seasons and has moved four times as he worked his way up. He is only 34 years old so he is just getting started. His Allen fans will be watching with interest his progress. 


DID YOU KNOW: Josh Hepditch led all Allen defenseman in plus/minus in 2011-12 with a +14. Hepditch played 11 seasons between juniors, college and pros and had a negative plus/minus rating just one time. As a freshman at the University of New Brunswick he was -3. In his other 10 seasons his plus/minus rating was always a plus.