Boulder Hockey Club

Dear BHC Prospects:

Co-Head Coach: Zach Meints
Co-Head Coach: Matt Huckins

With a talented cast of '90 and '91 players from the State Champion Major A team and the State Champion Minor AA team, the Major AA team is expected to compete once again for a state title. The team will play Tier II in the CCYHL and some AAA showcases. The teams number one goal will be to "dance" on the big stage at Nationals, repeating last year's success. Zach Meints, a former BHC player and assistant to Matt Huckins for the prior three seasons, will take this season's Major AA co-coaching assignment. Matt will play an active role in this team.

Zach has coached with the Colorado Thunderbird AAA program as well as spending a number of years at BHC coaching at the AA level. Zach played at BHC Mites-Midgets and won two State and one District Chanpionship with Monarch High School as a player.

Head Coach: John Shaw
Assistant Coach: Danny Newcomb

John Shaw returns as head coach of the Major A team. John has guided each of his past three teams to the playoffs, winning the CAHA State Championship last season. John is extremely effective at getting the most out of his players and creating an environment where players can progress and be successful. We expect similar results from the 2008-2009 Major A team.

Head Coach: Jimmy Dexter
Asst Coach: Paul Rowzee

Jimmy and Paul guided the 2007-2008 Midget Minor AA team to a Tier II State Championship and they took 3rd at Regionals going 3-1-0. With 9-10 returning players, we expect this team to be one of the most dominate teams in the CCYHL. Jimmy Dexter has been a head coach at BHC for 9 years and has worked with most of his Minor AA players since Mites.

Continuing on the success of last season, this year's U16 team will benefit from the prior year's player chemestry with additions from within BHC and elsewhere. There is a high level of interest from AA and AAA players from all over the state to join this team.

Head Coach: Matt Huckins
Asst Coach: Chris Lawson
Asst Coach; Brent Cullaton
Asst Coach: Brian Bender

With such a strong group of '93 birth year players, BHC decided to field a '93 Prep team in order to fully develop these players. Like a AA team, this team will compete in the CCYHL Midget Minor AA division. This team will attend a Tier I  AAA festival during the year to allow its players to compete at the highest levels.

Matt Huckins will coach this team after leading his Major AA team to an impressive 6th place finish at Nationals last season. Matt will focus on skill development and individual progression throughout the season.

Brent Cullaton is a 12 year professional hockey player, NCAA Division I player, current CHL all-star and captain of the Rocky Mountain Rage. Cully will be a skill development Assistant Coach for the '93 Prep team. Cully is a BHC Elite Skills Instuctor and he looks forward to working with the boys.

Chris and Brian are a year removed from college hockey. Both Brian and Chris are from CO. Brian played as a defenseman, Mites-Midgets at BVYHA and returns for his second year as a BHC Coach. These coaches will give the players daily feedback on their individual "game".  Chris will work with our Fwds and Brian our Defense.

Head Coach: Scott Gudahl
Asst Coach: Ed Smith

With such a strong group of '93 and '92 birth year players, we expect this team to compete for a State Championship in 2008-2009.  Scott is coaching Midget Minor Hockey for the second time in Boulder. He coached Minor AA 4 years ago and has been a BHC coach for 6 years. Ed will return helping Scott this year.

Head Coach: Will Frey
Asst Coach: Matt Huckins

We are excited to announce Will Frey as a BHC Head Coach this year. Will, originally from Wisconsin, has a deep background as a player and as a instructor, teaching hockey skills through running camps and clinics all over the world for Planet Hockey.

The Bantam AA Team will practice twice a week with the 93 Midget Prep Team using 30-30-30 sessions. This will give the players a chance to work with Matt Huckins and play at the Midget level in controlled practice environments. With a strong group of '95 birth year players and a host of new and returning '94 birth year players, we expect the Bantam AA to enjoy an extremely successful season.

Head Coach: Todd Paxton
Asst Coach: Martin Black
Asst Coach: Mark Watkins

The Bantam A team will be coached by Todd Paxton. Todd spent last season honing his skills as an assistant coach to Matt Huckins on the Midget Major AA team. Todd is a former Michigan AAA and prep school player and has extensive playing experience to go along with his 4 years of coaching experience. He understands the BHC systems and coaching methodologies, and we are excited to have him as a BHC head coach.

With a talented group of '94 and '95 birth year players, we fully expect this team to compete in every game and enjoy a very rewarding season.

Unfortunately there will be no Bantam B team for the 2008-2009 season. 
Please contact Matt Huckins with any questions.

Head Coach: Brandon Feltman
Asst Coach: Dave Garver
Asst Coach: Jason Miller

Brandon Feltman is entering his 4th season as head coach of the Peewee AA team at BHC. Brandon has proven very instrumental in preparing these younger men for success at the older levels. Brandon instills discipline in his teams and they are known for their work ethic and hockey sense.

We are pleased to Dave Garver as an assistant coach for BHC.  He will act as the defensive coach and focus on player skill development. Dave is a former USHL and Europeon professional player. Dave was working with the Thunderbirds before joining the BHC staff.

Head Coach:  Tom McGann
Asst Coach:  Andrew Zimmerman
Asst Coach:  Mike Mullan
Asst Coach:  Andy Aust

Tom McGann is entering his second season as a BHC coach.  Last season, Tom coached the Peewee B team to a 12-5-3 record and took 4th at the CCYHL Championships.  Tom does a wonderful job with the boys and he runs a great practice.  We expect this team to compete very well and go after another title.

Head Coach: Marian Klien
Asst Coach: TBA

With a talented group of '96 and '97 birth year players, we fully expect this team to compete in every game and enjoy a successful season.

Head Coach: Andrew Zimmerman
Asst Coach: Kyle Hanson
Asst Coach: Justin Nikle

Coach Z is entering his 5th season coaching at BHC. He has coached at all levels of Mite-Midget AA hockey. Coach Z makes the boys think the game and understand their assignments on the ice - with and without the puck. Although young, these players become "hockey players" under the control of Coach Z.

Kyle Hanson is entering his 2nd year as an assistant coach at BHC. Kyle spent his entire playing career at BHC and enjoyed a trip to the Regional playoffs in his last year as a BHC player. Kyle brings a youthful perspective to the game and can relate to the players very well.

Justin Nikle is from Minnesota and played in the USHL and NCAA Hockey.  Justin brings a wealth of knowledge to this team.

In short - this team will be good. They have the talent, coaching and attitude to make a run at the state playoffs.

• Do you know if they will have specific practice and game times? The DNHL practices will be at a set time each week; initially Tuesdays or Thursdays from 7:45-8:45pm (these will likely change to Friday in mid October). DNHL Games will be on the weekends, but days/times will vary.

• Will all kids make it on some team or are there kids that may not make a team at all? Whereas I was originally worried that we might not have enough kids to make a team, now it looks like we will have more kids trying out than we have open spots for. Because of ice time limitations, we can only field 1 team at each of the three levels. Anyone not making the DNHL team can still play in the YMCA Rec League if they choose.

• Do you know if the games will all be played at BVICE or some at the CU ice arena? All the games will be played at BVICE (that is in the agreement), but it is possible that we could have some skill sessions (practices) at CU.

• Do we need to register somewhere prior to this? Is there a pre-signup or $ due for these (tryout) sessions? You will need to register with USA Hockey before tryouts; I will describe this process in a subsequent email, but there are no fees associated with the tryout sessions.

• Will there be travel with this league? Yes, the DNHL requires travel in a limited area.

• What is the farthest place that they would travel to? The farthest association participating in the DNHL is Summit, located in Breckenridge, but we would only travel there one time at the most.

• Is there and opportunity for scholarships? Yes, the YMCA offers financial aid for those who qualify.

• Do they require USA Hockey certifications for DNHL coaches? Coaches in the DNHL will need to have USA Hockey certifications consistent with the age/level of the kids they are coaching (Squirt = Level 2, Peewee/Bantam = Level 3).

• Will the Y support using the weight room and gym for dry land training? I don’t have an answer for this yet, but will look into the possibility.

• What would the Y charge (per hour) for additional ice (maybe a few extra practices early on)? The DNHL has rules about practice ice time and we will come close to hitting their cap. I would dissuade coaches from trying to schedule additional ice time, unless a special circumstance came up.

Head Coach:  Kevin Dundon
Asst Coach:  Brad Conant
Asst Coach: Steve Scroggs
Asst Coach: Todd Harris

Because of the strength of the squirt division as a whole, the Squirt C team will be made up of high level Squirt players.  We expect this team to compete in every game and earn a trip to the Squirt C playoffs.

Manager - Meghan Mariner (meghan.mariner@gmail.com)