A former Boston Bruin and Chicago Blackhawk will be leading the Cold Lake Wings through their first year as a hockey team.
Johnathan Aitken can’t remember a time when hockey wasn’t a part of his life, and after playing on teams ranging from minor hockey to the big leagues, he feels he’s the perfect man for the job.
“Throughout my professional career, and even my junior career, I have made good and bad choices both on and off the ice. I’m willing to and want to share those types of experiences with these younger kids who are trying to make a career or get into a certain division,” he expressed.
Aitken will be head coach and general manager of the new Western Provinces Hockey League (WPHL) team in Cold Lake.
Although he is aware that starting from scratch won’t be an easy task, Aitken is up for the challenge.
“I’m looking forward to this. It’s a different role. I’ve coached before... I think having this opportunity to have both feet into it is very exciting, but nervous in making sure we put a good product on the ice. It’s going to be a process, and it’s not just going to happen overnight. I’m looking forward to the challenge,” he said.
His experience with the sport is expansive.
Playing in both minor, junior, and professional hockey, Aitken has a feel for the ice and a passion for the game.
Not only has he played against some of the world’s best in the NHL, but he’s also taken his game across the border, when he played for the Austrian and Czech teams.
After retiring from hockey professionally, he started working in the oil industry.
Five or six years later, he started acting as an agent and advisor for young hockey players.
Now that he has accepted the role with the Cold Lake Wings, he will be taking a leave of absence from Keiser Sports in order to focus on the Wings.
Even though he was working with 14 to 20-year-old hockey players, Aitken admits he missed some of the camaraderie of being a part of a team.
“You’re involved in the conversations the guys have day-to-day in the dressing room, and I think when that’s something you have been a part of for so long, you tend to miss that,” he expressed.
But that wasn’t the only reason he accepted the job as head coach and general manager.
Aitken said, “It’s being involved hands-on. I saw an opportunity that came up. It will be a challenge, because it’s a new team, it’s starting from scratch. It will have it’s challenges when it comes to recruiting players... I think my idea and my mindset is to have a full major junior type feel to the dressing room, the team, and the expectation.”
His job now is to recruit players to the pay-to-play league, which he knows won’t be an easy task.
He hopes that by building a program that is conducive for learning, with the necessary equipment, dressing room, and ice surface, players will see the opportunity to develop and hone their skills.
“Trying to get players to come, it’s about having a program that’s going to be conducive for them to learn. Development is key, they want to see improvement. I know it’s a different type of model as a pay-to-play league,” said Aitken. “Those are funds that will go towards the day-to-day operations of the team, and will give them the necessary equipment. There really is no excuse for the team to not have an environment that is conducive for them to be better, whether that’s gym equipment, programs, or education.”
