Rochester Monarchs AAA Hockey Club Announce 2016-‐2017 Squirt
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Rochester Monarchs AAA Hockey Club Announce 2016-2017 Squirt & Pee Wee Coaches The Rochester Monarchs AAA Hockey Club and Director of Hockey Francois Methot are pleased to announce the Pee Wee and Squirt AAA Head Coaches for the 2016-2017 season. With the Monarchs’ top priority and focus being TOTAL PLAYER DEVELOPMENT both on and off the ice, the 2016-2017 travel Head Coaches certainly reflect that mission with their coaching philosophy. Returning for his 2nd season as the head coach of the Monarchs’ 2004 birth year team is Scott Nichol as he will guide the Pee Wee Major AAA team through their first tournament-bound season in 2016-2017. The native of Edmonton, Alberta, Coach Nichol was a 1993 NHL draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres and played 19 professional seasons which included 662 games in the NHL. Included in his stops in the NHL was tours with Buffalo, Calgary, Chicago, Nashville, San Jose and St. Louis. He spent his first six professional seasons in the Sabres organiZation, playing 325 regular season games with the Rochester Americans in the AHL, where his professional career began at age 20. Coach Nichol was a key member of the Amerks’ 1996 Calder Cup championship team. Coach Nichol’s player development resume is unrivaled in youth hockey as he holds the position of Director of Player Development for the NHL’s Nashville Predators. In his role with the Predators, Coach Nichol is responsible for following and evaluating prospects drafted by Nashville, in addition to working with players on all levels throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. He assists them with their maturation process into NHL players by focusing on nutrition, off-ice workouts and conditioning, practice habits and game performance. Coach Nichol hopes to do the same for players in the Monarch organiZation as they navigate their athletic careers and help players reach their full potential in sport as well as life. “I'm very excited to be a part of the Monarchs organiZation,” said Coach Nichol. “Our 04 team has made huge strides in believing in themselves, in their teammates, learning to play as a team, putting personal accolades aside and competing whenever they are on the ice. The amount of practice, skill development along with video and dry land training builds a competitive environment. These are all great qualities these young men will need as they keep growing and maturing.” Coach Nichol and his wife Christie reside in Victor, NY with sons Hayden and Foster and daughter Sophia. The Rochester Monarchs AAA Hockey Club is also pleased to announce that Chris Palmer will return in 2016-2017 as head coach of the Pee Wee Minor AAA team. Coach Palmer, a native of Midland, Ont., played collegiately at Rochester Institute of Technology where he finished his three-year career with the Tigers as one of the leading scorers in RIT men’s hockey history, earning All-American accolades and was also a 2005 inductee into the RIT Athletic Hall of Fame. Following his college career Coach Palmer signed a professional contract with the New Jersey Devils and spent 12 years playing professional hockey in the AHL, ECHL, UHL and leagues overseas in Great Britain, Germany, Italy and SwitZerland, as well as time with the Canadian National Team. He spent time during the 1999-2000 season with the Rochester Americans where his teammates included fellow Monarch coaches Francois Methot and Scott Nichol. In addition to his recent coaching experience within the Monarchs program, Coach Palmer has also spent time as an assistant coach with his alma mater RIT and in the Rochester Alliance program previously as well. Director of Hockey Francois Methot feels these coaching selections fit perfectly into the mission of the Rochester Monarchs AAA Hockey Club and is a clear example of the commitment the program has to the TOTAL PLAYER DEVELOPMENT of local athletes. “Quality coaches is this organiZation’s number one priority and we are extremely fortunate to have Scott Nichol and Chris Palmer coaching for us,” said Methot. “They exemplify what we are looking for in coaches. The highest level of hockey knowledge and an unparalleled passion for teaching the game to our young players.” The Monarchs’ Squirt Major AAA team will be led by the coaching tandem of Mike Norton and Jake Wiemer for the 2016-2017 travel hockey season. Coach Norton, who served as the Squirt Minor AAA coach with this ’06 birth year group during the 2015-2016 season, is a Level 3 certified USA Hockey coach and returns for his 2nd season in the Monarch organiZation. He was also previously a coach with Perinton Youth Hockey in the mite program. The native of Rochester, NY was a local hockey product, playing four seasons of varsity hockey at McQuaid Jesuit High School before graduating from St. John Fisher College. “My philosophy is to develop strong fundamentals and character in young athletes,” stated Coach Norton. Coach Wiemer is also a local hockey product as he grew up playing for the Rochester Youth Hockey program and Greece Thunder before moving on to Junior A in the OPJHL with the Cobourg Cougars. Following his junior career Wiemer played at Monroe Community College where he was a MCC Sports Hall of Fame Inductee in 2011. The son of former Rochester American and NHL defenseman Jim Wiemer, Coach Wiemer has also served as an on-ice instructor with Sport International Hockey Academy as well as an assistant coach at MCC and with the Rochester Alliance program previously. He also served as head coach in the 2013-2014 season at Rochester Youth Hockey for the Bantam Minor AAA team. “I'd say what drew me to the [Monarchs] organiZation is that it is a true hockey-first organiZation, full of quality hockey people,” said Coach Wiemer on what attracted him to join the Monarchs coaching staff. “[The organiZation] is trending in the right direction and I'm privileged to be a part of it.” For the Monarchs’ Squirt Minor AAA team, Michael Derks has been named the head coach for the 2016-2017 season. Coach Derks has spent the last five seasons coaching in the Perinton Youth ADM Mite program, the last two at the top Mite Major level. Another Rochester native who grew up playing four years of high school hockey at Greece before a junior hockey career that took him to Vancouver to play with Port Coquitlam and then back home to play with the Rochester Jr. Monarchs. Collegiately Coach Derks played at SUNY Brockport where he earned SUNYAC Rookie of the Year honors his freshman season and lead the League in scoring while earning all-SUNYAC honors. “I am excited to be named the coach of the Squirt Minor team,” said Coach Derks. “The Monarchs organiZation is run by a great group of hockey minds and the dedication to help these young athletes is the best around.” Coach Derks is looking forward to helping the future Monarch ’07 group begin their development as AAA hockey players in the coming season and beyond. “With the kids entering the key skill development years, I want to make sure they are learning the proper techniques of the game and increasing the level of decision-making with more live-action game drills,” said Derks. “This will help the player's hockey sense and in-game awareness." Monarch Hockey Director Francois Methot is excited about the Squirt coaching assignments as they fit perfectly in the organiZation’s goal of player development, especially at the younger levels of travel hockey. "With our squirt coaches we wanted dedicated coaches that emphasize on player development, the organiZation's main focus for squirt players,” commented Methot. “We feel extremely fortunate that Jake Wiemer will join as a non-parent coach. He is a great addiction to the ‘06 team having coaching experience with multiple AAA level teams. Mike Norton and Mike Derks are passionate about the game and will definitely help these young players get better." Tryouts for the 2016-2017 Squirt and Pee Wee Monarch AAA teams will take place in early March. See below for the tryout schedule: Birth Start End Team/Coach Day Date Location Year Time Time 2007 Monarchs Squirt Minor AAA -Derks Monday 3/7/2016 5:15 6:15 TC-East Monarchs Squirt Major AAA - 2006 Monday 3/7/2016 6:15 7:15 TC-East Norton/Wiemer 2005 Monarchs PeeWee Minor AAA - Palmer Monday 3/7/2016 5:30 6:30 TC-West 2004 Monarchs PeeWee Major AAA -Nichol Monday 3/7/2016 6:30 7:30 TC-West 2007 Monarchs Squirt Minor AAA -Derks Tuesday 3/8/2016 6:00 7:15 TC-East Monarchs Squirt Major AAA - 2006 Tuesday 3/8/2016 7:15 8:30 TC-East Norton/Wiemer 2005 Monarchs PeeWee Minor AAA - Palmer Tuesday 3/8/2016 6:15 7:30 TC-West 2004 Monarchs PeeWee Major AAA -Nichol Tuesday 3/8/2016 7:30 8:45 TC-West 2007 Monarchs Squirt Minor AAA -Derks Wednesday 3/9/2016 6:00 7:00 TC-East Monarchs Squirt Major AAA - 2006 Wednesday 3/9/2016 7:00 8:00 TC-East Norton/Wiemer 2005 Monarchs PeeWee Minor AAA - Palmer Wednesday 3/9/2016 5:45 6:45 TC-West 2004 Monarchs PeeWee Major AAA -Nichol Wednesday 3/9/2016 6:45 7:45 TC-West 2016-2017 Rochester Monarch Squirt & Pee Wee Coaches: n Squirt Minor AAA (’07): Michael Derks ([email protected]) n Squirt Major AAA (’06): Mike Norton ([email protected]) & Jake Wiemer ([email protected]) n Pee Wee Major AAA (’04): Scott Nichol ([email protected]) n Pee Wee Minor AAA (’05): Chris Palmer ([email protected]) .