Dyck Named Head Coach Of Team Pacific

Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce Mike Dyck (Lethbridge, Alta) as the Head Coach and Mike Mueller (Grande Prairie, Alta) as an Assistant Coach of Team Pacific that will compete at the 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in Winnipeg, Manitoba. 

“This is a very talented age group of players and I am excited to take on this challenge with the rest of the coaching staff and get the process started,” said Dyck.

Mike Dyck has spent over 13 years coaching in the Western Hockey League. He held the title of assistant coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers (1996-97), Lethbridge Hurricanes (1997-2002), and Vancouver Giants (2002-05) before becoming the Head Coach of the Lethbridge Hurricanes (2005-2009). Dyck was also the head coach of Team Pacific in 2010. Currently he is the Director of Player Personnel for the Vancouver Giants.

Mike Mueller comes to Team Pacific from the Drayton Valley Thunder of the Alberta Junior Hockey league where he is an Associate Coach and Assistant General Manager. Mueller has over five years experience with Hockey Alberta coaching at U15 Skill Camps, Alberta Cup and U17 Provincial Camp.

This year, BC Hockey is responsible for providing an assistant coach, athletic therapist and an assistant director of operations to Team Pacific. Those positions will be announced at a later date.

Team Pacific staff is selected through an open application process. Education, Team Alberta program experience and involvement, prior coaching and playing experience, and coaching philosophy make up the selection criteria. 

The 2012 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge will take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba from December 26, 2010 to January 4, 2012. The event brings together the top players in the world born in 1994 or later. The tournament is made up of 10 teams: five from Canada (Pacific, West, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic) and five international teams.

Team Pacific is comprised of players from Alberta and B.C. Player evaluations for Alberta will start in May when Hockey Alberta selects 80 players to attend its U17 Provincial Evaluation Camp in Leduc.

The Under-17 Program is the first step in Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence. Many players that compete at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge go on to represent Canada with the National Men’s Under-18 Team, National Junior Team and National Men’s Team.

Former Team Pacific players include: Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf, Mike Green, Devin Setoguchi and Jay Boumeester.

Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce Blair Becker (Edmonton, Alta) as the Head Coach, and Umberto Fiorillo (Edmonton, Alta) and Rick Swan (Sherwood Park, Alta) as Assistant Coaches, for Team Alberta U16 Male that will compete at the 2011 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup in October in Saskatchewan.

“The opportunity to represent the province and work with this great coaching staff is something I am looking forward to,” said Becker. “We want to put together a group of players that have a team first mentality and strong work ethic to give us the best chance at success at the 2011 Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup.”

Becker was an assistant coach for Team Alberta U16 male in 2009 when the won gold at the inaugural Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup in Blackfalds, Alberta.

Team Alberta staff are selected through an open application process. Education, Team Alberta program experience and involvement, prior coaching and playing experience, and coaching philosophy make up the selection criteria.

The Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup occurs in the off years of the Canada Winter Games.

Hockey Alberta Life Member and former Hockey Alberta President, Murray T. Copot, passed away peacefully on Monday, March 14 at the age of 87.

"Murray was a remarkable volunteer who made many significant contributions to hockey in Alberta,” said Hockey Alberta President, Annie Orton. “He has left his footprint on Alberta’s hockey community by leaving a legacy of unconditional commitment and passion for the game.”

Copot, a World War II veteran, had been a staple in Alberta’s hockey community for over 50 years. Like many parents, he became involved with minor hockey when his son Terry began playing in the Calgary community of Briar Hill. After Copot made a late-night phone call to convince his local alderman that the city should get staff to scrape the ice during the second and third periods of minor hockey games, he received a phone call from the president of Calgary Minor Hockey.

“He said, ‘If you can do things like that, we need you to be a part of Calgary Minor Hockey’, so that’s how I got involved,” said Copot in an interview several years ago.

At first, Copot became a director of Calgary’s Tiny Mites program.

“This was enjoyable because you got to be involved with the kids,” Copot once said, who later went on to become president of Calgary Minor Hockey in 1975-76 and ’76-77. “They all tried so hard and they still do. I still have a soft spot in my heart for them.”

Copot served as President of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (now Hockey Alberta) from 1986-1988. He was named a Hockey Alberta Life Member is 1992 before getting inducted into the Alberta Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.

“I just hope it carries on for a long time and that I’m able to help get some prizes for the kids,” said the ever-dedicated volunteer, who spent lots of his time traveling around the countryside with his wife Mary to watch their grandchildren’s numerous athletic pursuits. “They take after their grandmother.”

During his years as a volunteer, Copot had the chance to travel around Alberta, Canada and even overseas through opportunities with Hockey Alberta and Hockey Canada.

“Through hockey, I’ve met an awful lot of nice people throughout Alberta, Canada and the world,” summed up Copot in an interview in 2007. “Whatever you get involved in, you’ve got to have a passion for it.”

Copot is survived by his wife Mary, his children; Terry, Carol, Debbie, Ruth and Joanne, and his grandchildren; Colin, Ryan, Kyle, Mike, Chris, Greg, Julie, Sarah and Chad.

Summary of Achievements

• 1938-1940: Played Junior “B” hockey for Teulon, Manitoba
• 1941-1946: Served with the Royal Canadian Navy during the 2nd World War. Survived being torpedoed aboard the Ship, H.M.C.S. Albania.
• 1950: Continuous Minor Hockey involvement from 1950 to present.
• 1955-1958: Sports Director, Briar Hill Community in Calgary.
• 1958-1980: Coached community hockey in all levels.
• 1969-1970: Successful in coaching Triwood Juvenile “BB” team to the City of Calgary and Alberta Provincial Championships.
• 1963-1973: Tiny Mite Division League Director of the Minor Hockey Association of Calgary.
• 1967-1978: Board of Director, Minor Hockey Association of Calgary.
• 1975-1977: President, Minor Hockey Association of Calgary.
• 1978-1980: Coached and founded in Henry Viney League in Calgary which is a league for players 18-22 years old.
• 1978-1992: Served on Board of Directors of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association (AAHA).
• 1978-1986: Vice President, AAHA.
• 1979: Mr. Copot is the founding father of the Mac’s Midget Tournament.
• 1980: Was presented with the Award of Merit by the President of Calgary Minor Hockey Association, Grant Richards, for his years of volunteer involvement in community of hockey.
• 1981: Received Athletic Leadership Award for Hockey from the Calgary Booster Club for his outstanding leadership and organizational skills in the development of hockey.
• 1985: Received the CAHA Minor Hockey Week Plaque for his dedication to hockey and because he was one of the founders of Minor Hockey Week in Calgary which has its 25th anniversary January 30, 2004.
• 1986-1988: President, AAHA.
• 1988-1992: Past President, AAHA.
• 1988: Volunteered for the advertising for the AAHA Hockey News.
• 1988: As President of Hockey Alberta, Murray Copot was the Chair and hosted the 1988 Canadian Amateur Hockey Association Annual General Meeting.
• 1991: Thorhild Hockey Arena renamed – Murray T. Copot Arena.
• 1992: Presented plaque in appreciation for continued support and dedication to the Central Zone Referees Committee of Alberta.
• 1992: Life Member of AAHA.
• 1993: Awarded the Sportsman of the Year from the Calgary Booster Club for his leadership, dedication, and the developing of hockey in the city of Calgary.
• 1993: Inducted into the AAHA Hockey Hall of Fame.
• 1994-1996: Vice President, Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL).