Courtesy of Niverville Junior A Hockey Club
NIVERVILLE, MB – The Niverville Junior A Hockey Club, the newest team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), is excited to announce the hiring of its head coach and general manager, Kelvin Cech.
Cech, originally from Edmonton, is a highly experienced coach at the Junior level. He worked for three years as assistant coach of the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds before taking on his first role in the MJHL, becoming head coach of the Winkler Flyers during the 2019–2020 season. He was given Coach of the Year honours by the MJHL for his time in Winkler.
He will now complete the current season at the West Vancouver Hockey Academy before assuming the full-time role in Niverville on April 1, 2022.
“Kelvin has coached at many different levels,” says Clarence Braun, spokesperson for the Niverville Junior A Hockey Club board of directors. “Our search committee spoke with many applicants for the position and originally contemplated the hiring of different people for the head coach and general manager positions. After meeting Kelvin, we decided to move forward with a single position of coach/GM and provide that opportunity to him. We are excited to have Kelvin on board to head up the hockey operations side of our team. We look forward with great anticipation to the opening of the 2022–2023 season in September.”
Upon learning the news that he got the job, Cech flew to Manitoba and spent a few days in Niverville in late 2021 familiarizing himself with the town and taking a tour of the club’s home: the brand-new Community Recreation and Resource Centre (CRRC).
“My initial thoughts when I first walked in is that it’s a beautiful state-of-the-art facility,” Cech says of the CRRC. “For a Junior A arena, it’s the perfect size. It’s going to be a really exciting atmosphere for the town, a great place to bring the family to watch hockey. I’ve been around the MJHL before, and to me this is as good as it gets.”
Since the announcement earlier this year that an MJHL franchise was coming to Niverville, anticipation has been building in the area. Cech is excited to see this momentum, and to see the community come out and support the franchise when they first hit the ice next fall.
“We want you to come and enjoy this experience with us,” Cech says. “There’s going to be some ups and downs, as this is a new team, but it’s going to be fun at the rink each and every night, I can guarantee that.”
The Niverville Junior A Hockey Club, which will officially decide upon a franchise name later this month, was first announced in early July 2021.
For more information, please contact: Clarence Braun, spokesperson for the board of directors
204-791-2587
