South Island midget team gets Royal treatment
South Island midget team gets Royal treatment
BY MARIO ANNICCHIARICO, TIMESCOLONIST.COM JULY 25, 2012 11:01 PM
The Victoria Royals have a new assistant coach, not to mention a midget triple-A team that will also fall under its umbrella.
Victoria’s entry into the B.C. Major Midget Hockey League — formerly the South Island Thunderbirds — has established a new affiliation with the Western Hockey League club and taken the team name under a freshly signed three-year agreement.
The South Island Royals will play out of Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre and will be under the direction of head coach Geoff Grimwood, a Victoria native who joins the club after two successful seasons as an assistant with the Powell River Kings of the B.C. Hockey League.
Grimwood also serves as an assistant to WHL Royals head man Dave Lowry.
“We are very pleased to have partnered with B.C. Hockey,” WHL Royals general manager Cameron Hope said in a statement. “Helping in the development of hockey players from the South Island is one of the priorities of our organization.
“This partnership allows us to have an impactful presence with the South Island Royals by having a member of our coaching staff serve as the team’s head coach. It’s a part of our commitment to building a successful program for the Royals and a strong and lasting relationship with B.C. Hockey.”
The midget Royals will also practice out of Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre and the agreement allows for “cross participation between the two clubs when it comes to on-ice and off-ice sessions, allowing the WHL Royals to take part in South Island practices as part of injury rehabilitation and skill development.”
Grimwood helped the Powell River Kings to an 86-25-5 record over his two seasons in the BCHL, both times losing out in the league’s Fred Page Cup final.
“Geoff brings experience and passion to the South Island Royals,” said Hope. “He has been a successful coach at various levels and is the type of leader we want to guide this team. Geoff will also have a role with the Victoria Royals as a member of head coach Dave Lowry’s staff.”
Grimwood previously coached the Peninsula Panthers and Victoria Cougars of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League. As a GM and head coach with the Panthers in 2009-10, he led the team to a 38-6-2-2 record and a league championship. That came after three seasons as an associate coach with the Victoria Cougars.
“I am very excited for the opportunity to be the head coach of the South Island Royals,” Grimwood said. “The benefits of being a part of both the South Island and Victoria Royals will be of great benefit to the players in our system. Having the midget players, as well as the entire club, supported by a WHL franchise is going to elevate the level of the entire program.”
The midget Royals — who also announced Bryden Burrell as the team’s director of communications — will hold an identification camp Aug. 9-12 with locations and times yet to be determined.
Other teams in the BCMMHL are the Vancouver Northwest Giants, Cariboo Cougars, Vancouver Northeast Chiefs, Okanagan Rockets, Greater Vancouver Canadians, Valley West Hawks, North Island Silvertips, Fraser Valley Bruins, Thompson Blazers and Kootenay Ice.
