Yes, Darryl Moxam is stepping away from the back the bench of the Sudbury Wolves.

No, he is not leaving hockey – not by a long shot.

The 45 year-old former OHLer and current associate coach with the team he once played for has accepted a full-time role as general manager of the newly formed Northern Hockey Academy.

And as one might expect from the Lively native who stepped into coaching almost immediately upon wrapping up his pro career with the Nottingham Panthers of the British Ice Hockey Superleague (2000-2001), the move was hardly a slam dunk.

“It’s not an easy decision, obviously,” said Moxam, just finishing off his sixth year as a member of the Wolves’ coaching staff. “Anyone who knows me, and in particular, the players down there, know how much I care about them, how passionate I am about their development.”

“But I also have a family to worry about as well. This is an exciting opportunity, not just for me, but for our family.”

An assistant coach with Acadia University in 2001, Moxam would spend the next six years coaching in the NOJHL, tackling the Minor Midget AAA prospects for a couple of seasons before stepping behind the bench with the Laurentian Voyageurs from 2013 to 2016.

Little surprise than that many who attend Sudbury home games are aware of Moxam solely through his work alongside head coach Craig Duncanson and fellow associate Zack Stortini. Truth be told, there’s a whole other side to his skill-set, a side to which this new endeavour marries nicely into his acknowledged love for the game of hockey.

“This is an opportunity for me to use all of my skills in one particular job,” he said. “Whether it be in the pharmaceutical or corporate world for more than a decade, or teaching business in the classroom at the high-school or university level, or even working on some of the marketing and customer service stuff in dealing with the players at the rink, business is a passion of mine.”

“This is actually an opportunity to continue to develop as a person and stay in the game. Getting the chance to run and oversee an entire training facility: skill development, curriculum, and managing people – I see this more of a step up than a step down.”

For those in the hockey community who are unaware, the Northern Hockey Academy is being launched by business partners Brian Doyle and Blake Didone, taking over the former RHP facility off Kelly Lake Road. The lure of the challenge at hand was tangible, right from the moment that Moxam was first approached.

“I was honoured that they reached out, but honestly, through the first few conversations, I was probably interviewing them more, picking their brains about what their philosophy and vision was more than they were asking me what I thought,” said Moxam. “It comes down to the fact that we are very much aligned in what we believe.”

Part of that vision is the fact that the offerings at NHA will not be limited to just hockey, with a strong likelihood of courts being incorporated into the revamped building. “This is an opportunity to have individual skill development, whatever the sport,” said Moxam. “It is something that is needed in Sudbury.”

“There are too many families that have to pick up and drive south just to be able to keep up with the young men and women from other parts of the province.”

For as much as the graduate of both Acadia and Lakehead is enticed by everything this new job has to offer, there is also a reality to the life of an OHL associate coach that simply cannot be ignored. “I think the first thing that you have to realize as a coach is that security at this level is a rare thing,” said Moxam.

“If you’re worried about it every day, you’re going to struggle at the job. You have to find a way not to worry about it. This is a little bit about quality of life, that ability to put my head on the pillow at night and rest easy with the knowledge that I am taking care of my family.”

Still, Moxam is a hockey man, through and through. Stepping away from one of the best developmental leagues in the world, even when you know it’s the right choice, is not easy.

“I’m going to miss going out on the ice daily with the group that we have down there,” he suggested. “I think that the future is as bright as I’ve ever seen it over the course of the past 10, 15, 20 years.”

Moxam is also confident that he is walking away a better coach than when he began his stint with the Wolves. “I think the biggest thing is that I’ve developed as an associate coach,” he said. “Having the opportunity to work with so many great people: Dave Matsos and Cory Stillman and now Craig Duncanson and all of the assistants and associates I’ve had a chance to work with, has been wonderful.”

“I am the type of person that is learning each and every day - whether it be from someone on the training staff, management, coaches, players,” Moxam added. “I’ve become way more developed as that support mechanism for a guy that’s at the top. And quite honestly, I relish that role right now.”

For as excited as he is about what lies ahead, Moxam knows that there is still work to be done with the team that he is so closely associated with. “I will always be a Wolf,” he said. “My focus, right now, is to the Wolves. I have made it clear to them (Doyle and Didone) that my commitment is 100% right now to the team.”

“I actually have had anything to do with the new venture yet.”

In hockey circles, doors seldom close completely. Darryl Moxam understands that.

“It’s been a great six years I’ve had with the team,” he said. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for the people there. And I certainly would love to be a part of winning a championship there in a different role, if that’s something they would like me to do.”

“Time permitting” – because one senses that Moxam will be a very busy man in the months to come.