Kelly Guard

Named goaltending coach on July 25, 2024.

Guard, 41, comes to Bakersfield from the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he served as team’s goaltending coach since 2012. In 2022-2023, Guard was selected twice to be part of the staff of Team Canada, winning gold with the World Junior Team in Halifax, Nova Scotia and with the U-17 team at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer, Alberta.

As a player, Guard led the 2004 Kelowna Rockets to a Memorial Cup Championship on the strength of a record-setting season for the netminder. That year, he went 44-14-4 with a 1.56 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. His 13 shutouts and 1.56 goals-against average are still records in the WHL. He played profesionally for five seasons, including two seasons in the AHL with Binghamton from 2005-07.