The Delisle Chiefs have already had an interesting start to their offseason.

Following a shorter than expected playoff run, the front office had to get into their offseason work pile earlier than they wanted, and the first news of the offseason was a tough loss from behind the bench.

Assistant Coach Ryan Pilon accepted a job to coach male AAA in Estevan, an opportunity too good to pass up according to Chiefs Head Coach and General Manager Eric Ditto. Even though he is more than qualified, neither Pilon or Ditto were sure if he would be selected for the job, but it's the perfect time in his life to try and make the jump as a head coach after a few years in Delisle.

"He's at the age and point of his life right now where if he's going to further his career in coaching, and get started, you can't turn down the opportunity," said Ditto, "It's a good, well recognized league to coach in, and to get to step in as head coach will be huge."

The two have a had a few chats regarding the decision, with Ditto providing some pointers towards now being the bench boss. Learning from someone with experience should help out, but as a former player that almost made the NHL, Pilon has more than enough experience as a player to point himself in the right direction. Even though he was his boss, Ditto gushed at Pilon's resume.

"He had a really good playing career," said Ditto, going on to describe why Pilon has potential, "That was one of the things I told Estevan when I was called as a reference. As a coach you can take as many clinics and be as experienced as a coach as you want, but what Ryan is going to return to Estevan is his playing career, his playing knowledge."

Those who know about Pilon's playing career are aware of the breaks he has taken from the game, as it's hard not to make note of the fact he was a WHL stud with a high chance of playing in the NHL, but never did dress in a pro game. Being happy with yourself is all that matters to most people and it seems that Pilon took that road, and came out better for it despite his selection in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Following his departure, the Chiefs took seemingly no time at all to hire his replacement. Brennan Hall accepted the job as the Chiefs new Assistant Coach and Assistant General Manager, moving on from the PJHL organization in Carrot River. Ditto was more than excited to get someone with a recent resume as impressive as Hall's.

"He was Carrot River's GM, and some things came up that he ended up moving back to Saskatoon," said Ditto, who jumped at the opportunity to get in contact, "It was immediate, I was texting with our president, and we just thought we had to see what was up. I think he's done such a phenomenal job. Carrot River is a hard draw to get players, and the ones he got to go out there this past year, I've said it all along how good of a job he has been doing there. It was a no brainer to me."

Upon his exit from Carrot River, Hall said he would like to stay involved with the league, and the Chiefs offer was perfect. He was hired to make front office decisions alongside Ditto, but in a nice turn of events thanks to the loss of Pilon, he will look to now fill a big void behind the bench as well.

"I know he's been on and off the bench the last couple years in Carrot. He's been around some good coaches, and when I asked him if he was interested in that role as well because he would be an easy replacement; he was definitely interested, so we killed two birds with one stone with that one."

Ditto also mentioned another coach leaving in Jaden Shewchuk, and the Chiefs thank him for his time helping in Delisle.

Check out the Chiefs complete organizational statement on the new hire below, and stay tuned for more Delisle Chiefs news as their spring camp approaches, and their ability to sign players officially begins again on June 1st.

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