Cole McCaig has joined the coaching staff and business branch of the Flin Flon Bombers.
McCaig will hold two positions with the team. He will serve as the club’s new marketing coordinator, as well as an assistant coach.
McCaig will be in the team’s press box during home games and will join the team on the bench on road trips.
The 25-year-old is fresh off playing his senior season with the Marian University Sabres, an NCAA Division III school in Wisconsin. McCaig graduated from the school recently with a business degree, specializing in sport and recreation management and marketing.
Before heading south, McCaig played parts of three seasons with the Bombers.
While McCaig is listed as being from Brandon, his Flin Flon roots run deep.
“I lived in Flin Flon until I was about seven. I played my first year of minor hockey in Flin Flon,” he said.
“Honestly, I’m from Flin Flon originally. I have a lot of my family from Flin Flon and I played for the Bombers for two and a half years. Me and [Bombers head coach and GM Mike] Reagan, we also had a good relationship when I played and we kept in touch while I was away at university. This was years in the making, I guess you could say.”
Over the past few years, McCaig has started pursuing coaching, working with minor hockey programs and volunteering as an apprentice scout with Hockey Manitoba.
McCaig also drew up drills and practices with his Marian teammates. At one point, his coach allowed him to draw up one drill per week with the team.
“I just wanted to get my feet wet with that, wanting to get familiar with being behind the bench and running practices, stuff like that,” he said.
“My drawing on the board definitely needed some work, but I think by the end, I really improved. I think there’s still some room for me to improve, but it was definitely a good start.”
As a player and as a person with connections to the north, McCaig has seen just how intertwined the community and the Bombers are.
“As a player, I remember how important the team was to the community. Being up there again, but this time on the business side of things, I’ve been reminded how important the community is to the team. It goes both ways, it’s hand in hand. If it wasn’t for local businesses and sponsors, the team wouldn’t be as successful as it is today.”
When McCaig made his first trip back to Flin Flon after graduation, it also marked the unofficial end of his days as a player. He said it was bittersweet, but he’s also looking to the future.
“To be honest, I was nervous. It was kind of an official end to my playing career, so I was kind of entering unknown territory and I left that chapter behind me,” he said.
“I’m excited now. I’m really fired up to get back there and get started.”
