Until BC Hockey decided to expand its organizational boundaries into the northern half of the province, minor hockey associations have pretty much been left up to their own devices when it comes to operating their programs.
Based in Saanich, the not-for-profit 35-employee BC Hockey has always been a phone call away when problems do crop up for minor hockey administrators, officials and coaches. Now, that phone call won't require long distance.
BC Hockey's Regional Centre-North officially opened its doors for business Friday and the organization brought in a sledge hockey celebrity to help draw a crowd.
Derek Whitson of Medicine Hat, Alta., who helped Canada win the bronze medal at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi and was part of Canada's 2013 IPC World Sledge Hockey Championship gold-medal team, was on hand to give a group of elementary school kids and several clients of Spinal Chord Injury BC a chance to try play the game sitting in a sledge propelled by the picks of their sticks.
The regional centre will serve minor hockey associations in north central B.C., providing teams and their coaches administrative guidance to help them implement BC Hockey programs while following provincial guidelines. Overseeing a vast region from 100 Mile House to the Yukon and from the coast to the Alberta border, the centre will also provide support and skills development programs for coaches, managers, officials and administrators involved in minor hockey as well as junior and senior teams.
"We're very excited to be the second regional office in all of B.C. for BC Hockey, the first one being the Okanagan, and we have the biggest geographic region," said Allan Bristowe, manager of programs for BC Hockey Regional Centre-North.
"It will mean a lot to the region, Prince George Minor Hockey is one of the places we'll be able to support and we'll be able to deliver camps and clinics for players, referees and minor officials."
The opening of the centre coincides with a busy weekend of hockey activities, including the first two games of the Spruce Kings-Chilliwack Chiefs BCHL playoff series, two WHL games between the Cougars and Victoria Royals, and three Female Midget Triple-A League games between the Northern Capitals and Greater Vancouver Comets.
Today's activities also include a referee's clinic put on by BC Hockey referee-in-chief John Raphael from 12:30-2:30 p.m. at the Kin Centre meeting room, followed in the same venue by a hot-stove question-and-answer session with Prince George Cougars coaches Richard Matvichuk and Steve O'Rourke from 2:30-4 p.m. O'Rourke will be the head coach of B.C.'s under-16 boys team at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer. The Northern Capitals-Comets game starts at 5:15 at Kin 2.
On Sunday, the Comets and Capitals meet in their third game of the weekend starting at 8:15 a.m. at CN Centre. After the game, the Capitals and their coaches will be putting on a series of skill-development clinics for female players at Kin 1. Novice- and atom-aged players will be on the ice at 11:15 a.m., peewees are on at 12:15 p.m. and bantam/midgets are on at 1:30 p.m.
A partnership with the Prince George Cougars helped pave the way for Nick Drazenovic, the Cougars' director of player development, and Brian Toll, head coach of the Coast Inn of the North midget Tier 1 Cougars, to put on the centre's first clinic, a skills development camp for players aged 6-13, April 13-15 at the Kin Centre.
"We hope the regional centre will bring more opportunity for everyone involved in hockey, and not just for the players," said Bristowe. "We'll be a resource for referees and even volunteers. A lot of what we do at BC Hockey is volunteer-based, so we need people around the province to help out."
Skills camps are also in the works for Whitehorse, Yukon, in May and August and a camp in Smithers is slated for August. BC Hockey is affiliated with the B.C. Hockey League and will also oversee the Coy Cup provincial senior double-A championship in Williams Lake, March 27-31.
Prince George will host the peewee Tier 1 provincial championship at the Kin Centre, March 19-22, one of seven BC Hockey provincial hockey championships being played in northern B.C. during spring break.
The BC Hockey office is located on the ground floor of Kin 1.
