Flin Flon Bombers head coach and general manager Mike Reagan will be going from maroon and white to red and white this winter.
Reagan has been named head coach of Team Canada West for the World Junior A Challenge slated for Dec. 10 to 16 in Truro, Nova Scotia.
“It’s exciting. It’s something that you’d always hope you’d get the opportunity to do when you start it,” said Reagan.
“It’s an honour to be part of Team Canada. I’ve been pretty happy since I knew about it.”
This will be the third consecutive year Reagan has served as a coach with the team, having worked as a video coach in 2015 and as an assistant last year. Before that, Reagan worked with players at the team’s evaluation camp.
“I’ve been involved in this program for about four or five years, either as a guest coach or an evaluator or in some kind of capacity,” he said.
Reagan earned a gold medal with the team in 2015, working with a star-studded roster that boasted three future first-round NHL draft picks.
This year, Reagan will be joined on the bench by assistant coaches Joe Martin, Rick Swan and Derek Sweet-Coulter. Each is a head coach and general manager of a CJHL team.
Martin is with the BCHL’s Merritt Centennials, Swan works for the Bonnyville Pontiacs of the AJHL and Sweet-Coulter is with the SIJHL’s English River Miners.
Reagan has worked with all three coaches in the past, either as guest coaches and evaluators or on the team’s coaching staff.
“They’ve been part of the program for a while. I’m very familiar with those guys and I’m excited about what they’re going to bring to the table as well,” said Reagan.
The tournament serves as a showcase for Canada’s top junior A hockey players, pitting two teams of CJHL players against teams from around the world.
This year’s tournament will feature Team Canada West and Team Canada East going against teams from Russia, Czech Republic, Switzerland and the US.
Two players from last year’s Team Canada West were selected in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, including team scoring leader Cale Makar.
Last year’s Canada West roster also included two Bombers, defenceman Cory Thomas and forward Brandon Lesko.
This year, Team Canada West will play a pre-tournament game against Russia on Dec. 8. The club will start the tournament on Dec. 10 with a game against the Czech Republic.
