Notes from the President 

Clarity Around Vancouver Minor Rec Hockey Classic Tournament

To ensure there is no confusion and answer questions that have been shared, I wanted to confirm that the Vancouver Minor Rec Hockey Classic hosted by BC Hockey between March 24 to 29 is not affiliated with the VMHA tournament. It is a separate event outside of our hockey association.

The VMHA board does not endorse this tournament, and advises that VMHA C teams do not participate in this event. BC Hockey is a competitor in the local Metro Vancouver area for spring tournaments, whose events impact VMHA initiatives. This was witnessed during our Christmas tournament with lower registration numbers.

Within our association, we work hard to create and capture an identity that is synonymous with minor hockey in East Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. We support development at all levels and feel this approach is not necessarily reflected within BC Hockey.

We strongly recommend that our teams support our neighbouring associations for all recreational C hockey tournaments before considering this one.  Here is a direct link to local spring tournaments.

We have advised Pacific Coast not to provide any permissions unless VMHA directs them by a letter.  We ask for your support with this request.

Increasing non-sanctioned leagues and teams entering tournaments in North America represent an insurance risk for VMHA.  VMHA will create a policy to address this issue for future season.

 

 

 

Wanted: Feedback from Hisports Users

For all scorekeepers using Hisports, Pacific Coast requests your invaluable input to keep improving the program.  Please access this link to complete the form to share your experiences with the Hisport committee.

Please note that Hisport has fixed the administrator link for relevant board members who require access to penalty minute information. If you don’t hear from them, that means you are on the nice list and for those on the naughtly list… you may have heard from someone already.

Let’s play hard and be respectful and have some fun.

 

 

VMHA Second Shift – Second Time’s the Charm

Second Shift is a transitional program from First Shift that started on January 22. We are pleased to share that we have 42 East Vancouver kids who are a part of this program. We hope to see all of them at the rink next fall.

 

 

Volunteer Recognition – Highlighting Atom A1 Coach Stephen Gillis

Coach Stephen was nominated for exemplifying everything a coach possibly could. Stephen’s credo is not just to develop good hockey players, but also to develop good people. Stephen leads by example. He is kind and inspires his team to see the bigger picture, play together as a unit and have fun on and off the ice. The team is cohesive, focused and happy.

He gives his full effort, despite dealing with the draining effects of kidney disease, Stephen always has a smile on his face; he never complains and he is a true role model. He’s pretty great at hockey too.

Stephen will be receiving a kidney transplant on February 18 and the VMHA community requests that you send out good energy and healing thoughts to Stephen. Feel free to share your good wishes via Instagram at @stephengillis.

 

 

Hockey Fun Fact – Short vs Tall

The shortest player who ever played in the NHL was Roy Woters who measured 5’3. Wotters served as goaltender in 484 league games from 1925 to 1937 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Americans and Montreal Canadiens.

The tallest player in the NHL is defenseman Zdeno Chara. The statuesque player hails from Slovakia and stands nearly seven feet tall in his skates. Drafted by the New York Islanders in 1996, Charo currently plays for the Boston Bruins where he helped the team earn a Stanley Cup in 2011. He has played over 1,000 games and has about 500 career points to date.

 

 

VMHA Feature:

Highlight a coach, volunteer player with mini bio and photo by filling out a form here: Nomination Form

Nominate a VMHA community member to be featured weekly by emailing photo and filling out a form here: Nomination Form