The Vernon Vipers announced Friday that Colton Sparrow, assistant coach and director of player personnel, has chosen to leave the organization to pursue new opportunities.
It was a difficult decision for the 31-year-old Vernon native, who had a standout career with the Vipers in his playing days. Sparrow played four years of junior hockey with his hometown team. His best season was in 2013-14, when he put up 11 goals and 34 points in 50 games with the Vipers, before getting hot at the right time of the year and amassing 22 points in 19 playoff games to lead his team in points in a postseason that saw the Vipers reach the Fred Page Cup final.
Sparrow made two appearances in the National Championship tournament during his playing career.
In the 2020-21 season, Sparrow returned to the Vipers organization as a development coach. His hard work and commitment to the team quickly led to his promotion to assistant coach and director of player personnel, where he played "an instrumental role in shaping the team's success," the Vipers said in a press release.
"The Vernon Vipers organization would like to express its heartfelt gratitude to Colton for his invaluable contributions, both on and off the ice," the team said. "We wish Colton nothing but success in his future endeavours."
The team did not say where Sparrow will be off to next, only that he will be pursuing new opportunities.
