The Kamloops Blazers have added an interim assistant coach with a familiar last name.

Cory Clouston is coming on board. He’s the brother of Blazer head coach Shaun Clouston, and was a longtime coach of the Kootenay Ice, from 1999-2007, and was the head coach of the Ottawa Senators for two-and-a-half seasons, from 2008 to 2011.

“We felt that it was important to probably have somebody who could at least be full time. To have somebody come in on an interim basis that could give us their full time ability,” general manager Matt Bardsley says. “We looked at some options to find somebody that has really good experience, but to find somebody available basically in a short-term scenario, we felt that cory was the right situation.”

Cory Clouston says he’s excited to join the club.

“Good opportunity for me. I’ve been away from the league for a while, in Germany for parts of three seasons prior to that,” he told NL. “A real good chance for me to work with a real good organization. I watched the last couple of games on the internet and i think there’s something special going here. It’ll be fun to be a part of.”

Head Coach Shaun Clouston was asked about bringing on his brother, who’s a year younger.

“We knew on an interim basis we needed some help. Matt and I talked about a bunch of different names, I know there were some calls made to check things out. The one thing he mentioned already obviously, very comfortable with the person whose coming in. Lots of trust there and lots of history together.”

“No, we have never worked together, but we’re here for one reason,” Cory says. “I’m here for one reason, that’s basically to help the team win in any way I possibly can. I’m looking forward to it.”

The hire comes as associate coach Darryl Sydor, who is also a part-owner, is taking a leave of absence.