The men that will be standing behind the Cold Lake Ice bench next season have been announced.
Incoming head coach Scott Hood has chosen his two assistant coaches that will help lead the five-time NEAJBHL winning team. Shawn Coles and Ron Tremblay will be stepping into the position in the upcoming Jr. B hockey season.
“They have experience. They'll be giving me another voice and another two sets of eyes to help out in that way,” said Hood. “It'll be fun to have those to guys on board and we work well together as a group…I'm looking forward to it.”
Hood previously knew both Coles and Tremblay through hockey, with both men spending time coaching minor hockey teams.
“They're guys I knew that have been involved in hockey. I coached with (Coles) for a couple of years and he's a winner and pretty knowledgeable with hockey.”
Hood added, “Ron, I actually played against him many moons ago and just met him through work a couple of years ago. He was definitely interested, he played Jr. B before and I thought he'd be a good fit to bring on board.”
Coles, who is originally from British Columbia, has been involved with minor hockey for a number of years, winning provincial titles in that time.
Tremblay is quite used to hockey in the Lakeland. In addition to coaching some minor hockey, he spent six years playing Jr. B himself with the Lac La Biche Clippers and the Saddle Lake Warriors.
In addition to securing his two assistant coaches, Hood also has a good idea of who willing be returning to the ice this year. The new head coach has received a commitment from 12 or 13 players who have said they will be rejoining the Ice for the 2015/'16 hockey season.
Among those players are first-line forward Christian Nypower, who led the league in points last season. Forwards Nicholas Astasiewicz and Chase Brown will be returning to the team, along with defencemen Mackenzie Zarowny and Kurt Franklin. Fans can also expect to see goaltender Cody Janzen guarding the net again this season.
“I've talked to most of the guys returning and as far as I know the majority of them are all coming back,” said Hood. “That could change but I'm hoping that the 12 or 13 who said they're coming back are actually coming back.”
For the remaining spots on the Cold Lake Ice, Hood said they will be holding tryouts on the weekend of September 12.
“They're going to have skill, they guys that are coming out. (I'm just looking for players that) work hard and want to be there.”
The first game of the season for the Cold Lake Ice take place at 8 p.m. on October 2 in St. Paul.
