On November, 20th, over 400 BC minor hockey coaches entered Rogers Arena to learn invaluable coaching drills and techniques from leaders in the BC Hockey community.

Al White, former Referee in Chief and currently a Referee Committee Member for BC Hockey, spoke to coaches about proper communication with officials and also spoke in depth about the recent rules regarding head shots. Following Mr. White, Dr. Troy Stephens and Dr. John Maggirias discussed the importance of mouth guards in the game today and how they play a vital role in preventing serious injuries to hockey players of all ages.

Craig Sherbaty, Director of Coach Development for the Langley Minor Hockey Association, and Jessie Leung, Assistant Coach for the Valley West Hawks, held an on ice practice which demonstrated several key drills for minor hockey coaches to utilize in their practices. Working with the Surrey A1 Thunder Atom and Peewee teams, Craig and Jessie went through various drills regarding proper warm up, puck control, checking angles, net positioning, net drives, pinning, creating offensive awareness, and practice games.

Following the practice, Pasco Valana, professional goaltending coach and consultant, went through several drills for minor hockey coaches to employ with their goaltenders.

After the on ice demonstration, it was time for the big boys to show the coaches how it’s done as the Canucks took the ice for their game day skate. Prior to the skate, Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault and associate coach Rick Bowness came over to talk to the minor hockey coaches about their coaching experiences and what to expect in their game day skate. Once the Canucks did their thing, Ottawa Senators head coach Paul MacLean led his Senators on the ice for another demonstration of how things are done at the professional level.

A number of great prizes were handed out throughout the morning, including Champions Club tickets to upcoming Canucks games, and team signed sticks and jerseys from the Vancouver Canucks and Team Canada.

For more information on this and other programs offered by the Canucks Centre for BC Hockey, please click here.