KIJHL governors in Nelson to map out game plan for upcoming Junior B Hockey season
By The Nelson Daily Sports
Discipline is the key item on the agenda as the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League brain trust holds its annual general meeting beginning Friday at the Hume Hotel in Nelson.
“We’re going to be talking a lot about supplemental discipline,” said KIJHL president Bill Ohlhausen from the league office in Okanagan Falls.
“As you know Hockey Canada coming down hard on penalties like checking to the head and checking from behind. So we’ll be addressing those issues during the meeting.”
Ohlhausen said each Junior B League in the province has had different ways of dealing with these types of penalties.
Now the Junior B Director from the province, a la like Brendan Shanahan of the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety, will be the sole person to determine final suspensions or penalties.
“We’re going to streamline all of the discipline handled by three leagues in BC to one,” Ohlhausen explained. “The playing rules are all the same now. Refereeing in all of the leagues will be called the same . . . everything be the same.”
The one-fight rule continues in Junior B Hockey.
However, players fighting more than twice will receive suspensions for each additional tussle.
Other items on the agenda include welcoming the newest team to the fold, the 100 Mile House Wranglers.
The Wranglers, formerly the Pentiction Lakers, join Kamloops Storm, Revelstoke Grizzlies, Sicamous Eagles and Chase Heat in the Doug Birks Division.
Friday governors take to the golf course for a relaxing start to the meetings before hitting the boardroom to hammer out the 2013-2014 schedule.
This season the Neil Murdoch Division — Nelson Leafs, Beaver Valley Nitehawks, defending KIJHL Champion Castlegar Rebels, Spokane Braves and Grand Forks Border Bruins — will play a home-and-away series against the Okanagan Division — Kelowna, Summerland, Osoyoos, Princeton and former North Okanagan while the Eddie Mountain teams cross over to the Doug Birks.
Teams play home-and-away within the Conference with the remaining games in the 52-contest schedule played within the division.
Saturday the other items on the agenda will be covered.
One of those items is a report from the Nelson Leafs on progress of the 2014 Cyclone Taylor Cup.
Nelson plays host to the B.C. Championship April 10-13, 2014.
If necessary, any unfinished business is handled Sunday morning.
New coaches for new season
The coaching carousel had begun with a couple of changes behind the bench in the Kootenay Conferene.
After taking Castlegar to the 2013 KIJHL title, Steve Junker has resigned his position with the Rebels and is being replaced by assistant Jessie Dorrans.
Meanwhile, in Fernie, former Princeton boss Dale Hladun, aka, Duner, has signed on as the Ghostriders new coach and GM.
Two Rebels go off to college
Castlegar lost of pair of key players off the 2013 KIJHL roster when goalie Jordan Gluck and defenceman Erik Alden signed letters with the Arizona State SunDevil’s- Division 1 team and Adrian College Bulldogs in Adrian Michigan, respectively.
Leafs goes to howling to Wolfpack
Thompson Rivers GM Chris Hans and head coach Don Schulz are pleased to announce that a second member of the Maple Leafs from 2012-13 has agreed to join the BC Intercollegiate Hockey League club in September.
Colton Schell, a 5’11” forward from New Westminster, BC is the WolfPack’s 12th recruit committed for the coming season. The former Nelson Leafs captain will be enrolled in the Police and Justice studies course at Thompson Rivers.
Schell joins teammate Cam Weir at the Kamloops-based University.
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