Jamie Jackson could use a large hat rack, while local hockey fans should tip their hat to outgoing general manager Ron Luniw.

Jackson is the new hockey coach and general manager who has assumed the various multiple duties with the Port Moody Panthers for the new junior B hockey season.

The former Port Moody minor bantam A hockey coach has taken over the club from Luniw, who recently stepped aside after 14 years as the organization's manager, operator and chief bottle washer.

Along with a tiny army of dedicated volunteers, Luniw and wife Carol carried the club on their backs through thick and thin.

Luniw said health reasons forced him to turn over the reins, but he remains passionately supportive of the program that he took over in 1997, then based in Port Coquitlam.

"I passed on the torch at the last governors' meeting," said Luniw, who ran the club through a variety of ups and downs. "I definitely wasn't there to make money, but it was a fun ride.

"I had some good people along helping me, but it was basically my wife and I doing the laundry, ordering the equipment, doing everything."

Under new management, the team has a new, more menacing logo to go with a slight name change - having dropped the "Black" qualifier to Panthers.

On the ice, Jackson said changes have been made to help the club stay competitive in the Pacific Junior B Hockey League.

"We needed to update things," said Jackson of the image changes. "For me, I try to picture where we want to be at the end of the season- The changes on the ice are part of building a competitive hockey club."

Front and centre are returning veterans Martin Campbell, Richard Moul and Tyson Solotki. The club has added 19-year-old defenceman Tyler Bognar from Mission and will benefit from the return of Max Fiedler, who played junior hockey in Ontario last year.

"We've got a number of returning guys but part of the focus was to change the culture of the dressing room, and bring in veteran guys who'll lead by example," he said.

Jackson, who served as an assistant last year under James Strang, said taking over a junior B hockey club is both exciting and a little overwhelming.

"There's a lot of things to do, but at this point I'm excited about our first game."

Port Moody kicks off the 2012-13 season Thursday when they visit the Mission City Outlaws. On Saturday, the squad holds its home opener against archnemesis Abbotsford Pilots, 7: 45 p.m. at the Port Moody Rec Centre.

sports@thenownews.com