Todd White has spent a lifetime preparing for this opportunity.
In early October, when he steps behind the bench for the Barrhead Bombers first regular-season game he will be doing so for the first time as a professional coach.
That is what White told the Barrhead Leader Aug. 1 after a Western States Hockey League (WSHL) information session.
As part of the session, team owner and league president and commissioner Ron White (no relation) introduced Todd as the team’s general manager and head coach alongside assistant coach Sergiy Ivanyuk.
“I have been coaching hockey since I was 17, but this is the first time I have a coaching position where I don’t have to have a job on the side; it is a salary position,” he said.
White, who is from Fort McMurray, started playing hockey at an early age and proceeded through the ranks playing his minor hockey through midget at a high ‘AA’ to ‘AAA’ level.
After his minor hockey career was finished at 17, he tried to make the jump to the next level and catch on with an Alberta Junior Hockey League team but was unsuccessful.
At the time he thought that was the end of his competitive hockey career, however, a year later, in 1993, another door opened.
“My younger brother’s first-year peewee team didn’t have a coach and was asked to fill in,” White said, noting from that time on, he has been coaching steadily.
Some of the minor hockey associations White has coached over the last 20 years include Lac La Biche, Athabasca and Spruce Grove. He also has experience coaching college hockey serving as an assistant coach with the Portage College Voyageurs.
More recently, White said he has been coaching at the club level in Edmonton. In addition to coaching, he also served as a scout for WSHL’s Bellingham Blazers entry.
Although White said he cannot wait to get started with his coaching duties, such as overseeing the club’s tryout camp Aug. 23 to 25, more of his time will be spent making sure the franchise is ready to start the season.
While the Bombers are technically an existing team, moving from Long Beach, Calif., it is essentially an expansion team.
White noted this means he and the assistant coach have to build the infrastructure to support the franchise from scratch. Initially, he said much of his time will be spent talking to billet families and local businesses looking for potential sponsorship opportunities to the signing of players.
“We have a lot of work to do, but I’m confident we will be able to get it done so we can introduce Barrhead area residents to a new exciting brand of hockey,” he said.
Controversy
It should be noted the Western Provinces Hockey Association (WPHA) has initiated court action against White claiming he broke his contract with the Slave Lake Ice Dogs.
In March, the Ice Dogs hired White to act as their general manager and head coach. In June, he resigned stating on the Ice Dogs Facebook page that it was “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
White said he wasn’t able to comment about the case, but added he was looking forward to telling his side in court.
His case isn’t the only controversy regarding the WHPA. The league has also initiated court action against the Town of Hinton after the municipality terminated the agreement it had with the WPHA Wildcats, claiming that the franchise reneged its obligations by failing to pay what it owed the town in a timely fashion.
In an interview with the Barrhead Leader for its July 30 issue, WHPA expansion representative Derek Prue disputed Hinton’s claims, saying the team was not in arrears and the court action is to have the Town of Hinton reinstate the team’s lease.
The WPHA has also applied for a judicial review of the Town of Barrhead’s decision to partner with the WSHL to start a local Junior hockey team in the community, claiming they already had such an agreement with.
Initially, the WPHA had approached the Town of Barrhead about starting a local Junior hockey team. At their June 11 meeting, town council passed three motions relating to the new franchise.
However, town councillors rescinded those three motions at a special meeting on July 5. Four days later, town councillors approved three very similar motions relating to the new WSHL franchise.
