The Battlefords Midget Stars have filled their head coaching position for the 2011-12 season.
Lorne Nielsen of Wilkie has been offered the job and will start immediately as the Stars will be holding their evaluation fall camp April 16 and 17 at the Civic Centre.
"I am passionate about the game and excited about the opportunity," said Neilsen.
He brings a long resume of hockey experience to the club, which had six different coaches last season with head coach, interim-coach and assistant coach titles. Nielsen played three seasons in the NHL and briefly in the WHL and has a long list of provincial titles as a player and coach at the senior hockey level. Neilsen also competed at the Allan Cup (senior AAA nationals) as a player.
Nielsen said he expects his players to emulate some of the same characteristics he has played with, bringing an attitude that no matter what his team should never be counted out and will work hard.
"Inside the players will need to find the desire and fire to compete," said Neilsen adding that an attitude in the dressing room and practice with the boys playing with confidence and a bit of a swagger can take a team further than anyone expected.
Most recently Neilsen has coached at the midget level with the AA team in Unity and the A team in Wilkie last season while playing senior hockey at the age of 47. Neilsen brings with him 10 years of AA coaching experience and has been involved with Sask First at the bantam and midget level as both an evaluator and coach. The newly hired coach has recently been travelling around Saskatchewan instructing coaching clinics and taking in the bantam and midget zone camps.
Neilsen had developed a bit of a recruiting list of his own along with the Battlefords Stars' scouts and staff members and now the next job will be to find an assistant coach to help make some of those decisions.
Neilsen said he has some names in mind and had talked to some coaches hoping to have an assistant coach in place by next week before the camp.
The midget camp will be the first opportunity for the veterans and new comers alike to impress the new coaches. Before camp begins, Neilsen will be weighing through the list of goalies coming to camp because nearly 20 have responded to attend camp and he expects a lot of skaters at camp as well.
Neilsen inherits a team which finished 11th in the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League with a 10-32-1-1. The Stars haven't finished better than ninth in the past four seasons and during that span have a 44-118-9-5 record.
Neilsen, who has been a fan and supporter and fan of the Stars for years, is familiar with the program as a parent whose son Russell played with the Stars for two seasons (02-03 and 03-04). Russell went on to play with the Humboldt Broncos of the SJHL and now the University of Regina Cougars.
