A familiar hockey coach in Nanaimo will steer the ship for the Nanaimo Buccaneers starting next season.
The junior A tier 2 hockey club announced last week that Bill Bestwick has been named president, general manager, and head coach of the Bucs.
Bestwick was a longtime coach and general manager of the Nanaimo Clippers junior A hockey club, leading that team to Fred Page Cup championships in 2004 and 2007.
He told the News Bulletin that he has long said that he would consider returning to junior hockey if he was able to work with the right people, and said that’s the case with the Buccaneers and owner Nicole Brandenburg.
“Ownership’s values were aligned with mine, because of their vision and because of their objectives and because of their genuineness and all of those important reasons,” Bestwick said.
The Buccaneers are coming off a 1-47 season in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League, so there is work to do.
“It’s a real strip down and absolute rebuild, which I’ve been a part of on previous occasions, so I’m not shocked or overwhelmed by what needs to get done…” Bestwick said. “We’re making good progress in all areas. It’s one day at a time at this stage.”
The team is already working on renovations to its space at the Nanaimo Ice Centre, and Bestwick is re-establishing his junior hockey contacts and recruiting, with an emphasis on “proximity players” on the central Island. While the team’s recent record might not appeal to every top prospect, Bestwick said certain players will be motivated to be part of the solution in turning things around. The Bucs continue to enjoy advantages of being in a city like Nanaimo and with a home arena so close to a high school and university.
Bestwick said the Buccaneers’ focus will be on developing players to put them in position to achieve their goals in hockey and education.
“If we can create that culture and create that environment and create that space and do what we do as well as we possibly can, then I think that this team will flourish on and off the ice and become an option for players to get where they’re trying to get to, and an option for fans,” he said.
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