NEWS

The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) today announced the coaches and training staff for the four All-Star Teams that will compete at the 2014 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge (Photos Courtesy of OJHL Images).

Jason Fortier (Toronto Patriots), Curtis Hodgins (Cobourg Cougars), Brian Perrin (Newmarket Hurricanes) and James Richmond (Aurora Tigers) have been named the head coaches for each of the four OJHL All-Star Teams.

Toronto Patriots General Manager and Head Coach Jason Fortier will be behind the bench of OJHL Team Oates after being named runner-up as OJHL Coach-of-the-Year while leading the Patriots to an OJHL title and the Dudley-Hewitt Cup.  Fortier will be assisted by Mississauga Chargers Head Coach Joe Washkurak.  Patriots Athletic Therapist Karen Chrobak will take on the same role with Team Oates with Trevor Castonguay of the Hamilton Red Wings named Equipment Manager.

Four-time OJHL Divisional Coach-of-the-Year and Head Coach of the Cobourg Cougars, Curtis Hodgins, will take the reins of OJHL Team Nieuwendyk.  Hodgins' Assistant Coach is Mario Cicchillo, was also an assistant coach with Team Canada East last season at the 2013 World Junior 'A' Challenge.  Training staff for Team Nieuwendyk include Athletic Therapist Leslie Dias of the Stouffville Spirit and Equipment Manager Robb Crawford of the Whitby Fury, who was last season's OJHL Trainer-of-the-Year.

Heading up Team Coffey is Newmarket Hurricanes General Manager and Head Coach Brian Perrin, who was the 2010-11 OJHL Coach-of-the-Year.  Perrin will be assisted behind the bench by Lindsay Muskies General Manager and Head Coach Dan West.  The 2012 OHA Trainer of the Year, Amanda Gilroy of the Pickering Panthers, will be the club’s Athletic Therapist, while Trenton Golden Hawks Equipment Manager Edward Young will take on the equipment responsibilities.

Last season’s OJHL and OHA Coach-of-the-Year, a two-time winner of the OJHL award, James Richmond of the Aurora Tigers will be Head Coach for Team Hawerchuk.  Richmond is also a member of the defending Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings development coaching staff.  Assisting him behind the bench will be Kingston Voyageurs Head Coach Colin Birkas, who led the Vees to last season’s OJHL regular season title.  The Athletic Therapist is Ben Fryer from the Oakville Blades, while the Equipment Manager is Terry Burrows from the Voyageurs.

Below are the full OJHL All-Star Team staff assignments:

Team (Adam) Oates:
Head Coach            Jason Fortier        Toronto Patriots
Assistant Coach        Joe Washkurak    Mississauga Chargers
Athletic Therapist        Karen Chrobak    Toronto Patriots
Equipment Manager        Trevor Castonguay    Hamilton Red Wings

Team (Joe) Nieuwendyk:
Head Coach            Curtis Hodgins    Cobourg Cougars
Assistant Coach        Mario Cicchillo        Toronto Jr. Canadiens
Athletic Therapist        Leslie Dias        Stouffville Spirit
Equipment Manager        Robb Crawford    Whitby Fury

Team (Paul) Coffey:
Head Coach            Brian Perrin        Newmarket Hurricanes
Assistant Coach        Dan West        Lindsay Muskies
Athletic Therapist        Amanda Gilroy    Pickering Panthers
Equipment Manager        Edward Young    Trenton Golden Hawks

Team (Dale) Hawerchuk:
Head Coach            James Richmond    Aurora Tigers
Assistant Coach        Colin Birkas        Kingston Voyageurs
Athletic Therapist        Ben Fryer        Oakville Blades
Equipment Manager        Terry Burrows        Kingston Voyageurs

The fourth annual All-Star Showcase event is being hosted for the second time by the OJHL and will take place from November 14-16 at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto (Etobicoke), Ontario.

The annual weekend was created as a competitive alternative to the annual league All-Star Games and debuted in 2011, hosted by the CCHL’s Smiths Falls Bears.  The uniquely formatted tournament is played with two 20 minute halves (instead of three periods), focusing on high-paced and intense action.

This year’s event will feature nine teams from four leagues with the breakdown as follows:

•    CCHL – 2 teams
•    NOJHL – 1 team
•    OJHL – 4 teams
•    QJHL – 2 teams

The teams will be split into three pools and play a round-robin against other teams in their pool.  All teams will be re-seeded after the round-robin to determine the quarter-finals schedule with play-downs taking place to the championship game, scheduled for Sunday, November 16 at 6:00pm.

For more information on the 2014 Central Canada Cup All-Star Challenge, please visit the OJHL website at www.ojhl.ca and follow the links.