http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0D3303DBA7DDD14D

“After an exhaustive interview process he emerged as a leader and someone we feel is going to be great for the program,” Sockeyes’ vice-president of hockey operations Ronnie Paterson said.

“When we looked at his resume and how extensive it was, and his networking, it was obvious to us he was a student of the game and passionate about it. His communication skills appear to be very strong, (beneficial) not only to developing players but people. That’s something we really want to make a commitment toward.”

Wilbur has the unenviable challenge of carrying on the Sockeyes’ winning tradition. Under the guidance of his immediate predecessor, Judd Lambert, the Sockeyes won 181 regular season games and lost only 37 in regulation and 16 in overtime. His playoff record was equally impressive: 42 wins, 12 regulation losses and five overtimes losses over five seasons.

Though Lambert stepped down following the conclusion of the 2011-12 season to spend more time with his young family, he hopes to stay involved in some capacity with the Pacific International Junior Hockey League team.

Of Lambert’s three coaching assistants last season, only Greg Harding is expected to return. Like Lambert, both Scott Nielsen and Colin Falk have opted to step aside as well.

Richmond B.C. – Vancouver Hockey School’s Pre Junior and Junior Development program students were surprised to have legendary junior coach Don Hay leading practice this past week. The current head coach of the WHL Vancouver Giants put the players through a series of up tempo flow drills with precision passing at the forefront.

“I know Don through the hockey circles and approached him about running a few sessions for the older boys” said Derek Popke.

Hay’s Vancouver Giants were eliminated in the first round of the WHL playoffs by the Spokane Chiefs. The 2011-2012 season was a busy one for Hay, having coached the Canadian World Junior Team this past Christmas.

Vancouver B.C. – Vancouver Hockey School instructors Yogi Svejkovsky, Derek Popke, and Ajay Baines were pleased to be selected to instruct at the Vancouver Canucks annual First Stride Program 2012.  Over 70 kids took part in team building and on-ice sessions at Rogers Arena. VHS instructors were joined by Vancouver Canucks players Byron Bitz and Dale Wiese.

Vancouver B.C.- Derek Popke was featured on CKNW SportsTalk 980 with Dan Russell. The one hour hockey show featured the heavily debated ruling by Pacific Coast Amatuer Hockey to eliminate body checking from “C” level (recreational) level hockey effective in the 2012/13 season. “I truly believe this is a good decision by the PCAHA” stated Popke. “We are talking about player safety and most of all the safety of our youth participants”.

The current ruling only effects the “C” level divisions. In June 2012 at the annual AGM, the highly controversial topic of eliminating body checking from the PeeWee Rep level will go to vote. In favour of the change, Popke says “during the maturation process of an 11 and 12 year child, we see lots of changes physically. There is a lot of discrepancy in the size of the players at this age”. He goes on to state ” more importantly than the child’s physical attributes, we must look at the mental side. From a psychological point of view, kids at this age are not ready to hit in my opinion. Having said that, there are arguments for both sides of the fence on whether or not to eliminate body checking at this partilcular age and level”.

Tune-in to CKNW in June, when Popke will be back on air to discuss how we, as coaches, can better prepare players for contact hockey.

CKNW SportsTalk 980 can be heard Monday – Friday 9:00-midnight on your AM dial.

Richmond B.C. – Vancouver Hockey School student and Seafair Minor Hockey product Katie Chan has earned the right to represent BC at the Canadian Tire NHL Junior Skills Competition. As part of the NHL All-Star celebrations, Canadian Tire is hosting a skills competition for boys and girls in the Novice, Atom and Peewee divisions (ages 7-12). Regional qualifiers were conducted in 15 cities across the country. Each child competed in 4 different events: skating, stick handling, shooting and passing. The scores in the all 4 events were added together and the top 5 male and female players in each division were awarded the Grand Prize: 2 plane tickets to Ottawa to watch the NHL All-Star Game.

Eight year old Katie Chan finished second overall in the country in the Novice Girls Division (by a mere 0.134%!) and will be representing our city at the Finals. Special thanks to coaches Yogi and Derek for the phenomenal development that helped Katie excel in 2 of the 4 events. Her timed skate was the third fastest in all of Canada in the entire Novice Division (girls AND boys) and in stick handling she finished 7^th overall for both male and female skaters.

Katie is looking forward to seeing some of her favourite NHL players show off their skills at the All-Star weekend and she hopes to bring the Junior Skills Competition victory back to Richmond. Good luck Katie! We hope to see you at the Awards Presentation during the NHL Skills Competition!

BOSTON — Some players around the National Hockey League have already circled the last weekend in January, looking ahead to a few days off for a vacation with the family.

Panthers defenseman Jason Garrison isn’t. He doesn’t know what he’ll be doing when the All-Star break comes around, but if he keeps playing like this, he may be working.

“I think I would be excited to go and would bang it out in Ottawa,’’ Garrison said of the possibility of being selected to the All-Star team with a grin. “I have not heard anything. Honestly, I haven’t thought of it once. I don’t even think it’s an option. There are about 22 players on our team who deserve it more than I do.’’

If Garrison is indeed selected to play at the All-Star Game, he will be a player in demand by the gathered media. Garrison is definitely being noticed. His story of perseverance and proving the naysayers wrong is a good one.

Undrafted as a junior, Garrison went to the University of Minnesota-Duluth with the thought he just wanted to improve as a player. “I never even thought about being drafted,’’ he has said. “It never even crossed my mind. That’s how far away I was.’’

Garrison ended up blossoming as a collegiate player and left after three seasons once signing a free agent deal with the Panther.  Jacques Martin, Florida’s general manager at the time, worked hard to get Garrison to sign and said then that Garrison had the potential to become a top-four defenseman in the league.

“It’s a great success story and it shows you that there isn’t just one road to the NHL,’’ assistant coach Gord Murphy said. “Everyone thinks there is one golden path and he proves that just isn’t true. He’s a late bloomer, late developer. But he always had a strong work ethic and a desire to play hard. Those are the qualities you look for in a strong NHL defenseman. He has that.’’

After a season in the minors, Garrison played 39 games with Florida in 2009-10 and showed enough promise that the Panthers offered him a two-year contract. With an increased role last season, Garrison scored a career-high five goals while becoming a much-counted on defensive player.

These days, however, Garrison has been singled out for his offensive contributions. Garrison went into the Christmas break with 10 goals – most among all NHL defensemen. And he’s been leading that category for some time.

“It seems like every time you are watching the ticker for scores, you see his name pop up,’’ said Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, Garrison’s teammate in Florida for a part of the 2009-10 season. “It’s really nice to see him break out like that. He’s having a lot of success, playing a lot of minutes. You didn’t see that when I was there. He was very quiet, but man, so strong. He’s like a beast.’’

It’s Garrison’s booming slap shot that has brought him his goals, as all but one have come from 45 feet or more. Newcomer Brian Campbell has helped, for sure, and has assisted on all but the past two of Garrison’s 10 goals. “A lot of ice was open to him early,’’ Murphy said, “because everyone was keying on Campbell. Now they’re keying on him.’’

In practice, Garrison says he doesn’t wind up to full speed so to not potentially injure his goalie. Still, when he starts shooting, his teammates wisely get out of the way.

“I use my shot as much as I can, just trying to get the puck through,’’ Garrison said. “Fortunately a few of them have found the back of the net. For the most part, I’m just shooting it for the forwards, for the tips, to create havoc. I try to play a simple game: Shoot it accurately and hard.’’

As much as the Panthers like Garrison’s increased offensive role, they stress they want him to continue focusing on his defense. That is, after all, what earned him a contract with the Panthers in the first place. When the Panthers brought in new management in 2010, they assessed what Florida had. Garrison was a player they wanted to keep. Instead of a two-way contract – making it easier for the Panthers to send him to the minors – Garrison was offered a two-year, one-way contract for a little less guaranteed money. That contract is almost up and Garrison can be a free agent. Florida has had talks with his agent and Garrison has stressed he wants to remain with the Panthers. The feeling is mutual.

“We knew it was a long-term plan here and we wanted to give him confidence and that’s been rewarded,’’ assistant general manager Mike Santos said. “We haven’t sat down at the table yet, but I believe Jason wants to stay with the Panthers. We want him to continue on with us. He’s been a big part of what we’ve done.’’

Garrison continues to work on his skills in his hometown of Vancouver BC with skating coach Derek Popke. Unlike other NHL’ers who take ample time off in the summer, Garrison started skating in late April in order to prepare for the upcoming season. Then again, Garrison has never taken the easy route to all-star status.

Richmond B.C. – Don Fennel

Post-concussion syndrome forced Jaroslav Svejkovsky to retire early from the National Hockey League​. But he’s grateful for the 113 games he was able to play with Washington Capitals​ and Tampa Bay Lightning​ between 1996 and 2000 and harbours no bitterness.

Today, “Yogi” is carving out what he says may be an even more rewarding career teaching hockey. He is an assistant coach with the Western Hockey League Vancouver Giants, a Head Instructor for Vancouver Hockey School, and Director of Hockey Operations for the Seafair Minor Hockey Association, where he also coaches Atom rep.

“I feel perfect now,” says Svejkovsky, 35, who was selected 17th overall in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Capitals and appeared to be on his way to a productive pro career after scoring 23 goals and 19 assists over five NHL seasons. “It’s been 11 years (since he was forced to retire) so there’s been lots of time to recover. If I would be younger I’d probably try to go back and play. But I’ve found a new life in terms of coaching and stuff like that and I feel this is probably what I was meant to do and I don’t look back.

Svejkovsky scored seven goals in his first 19 NHL games in the 1996-97 season playing left wing for the Capitals, including four in a single game. He played parts of the next three seasons with the Caps before being traded to Tampa Bay during the 1999-2000 season. He had 10 points in his final 29 NHL games with the Lightning.

“I always thought of myself as a person who did everything I could everyday to achieve the maximum of my abilities,” he said. “I think that helped me to never say ‘Why is it me and not the other guy next to me?’ What I felt more of was not accomplishing everything I wanted to. I first wanted to get to the NHL and then establish myself as a great player, which is tough. Sometimes it takes a lot of years and I wasn’t able to do that, but I was able to establish myself as an NHL player.”

Svejkovsky suffered the first of three concussions during his third pro season. He would suffer another before the season was over.

“With the first one I got a puck in the jaw with five minutes left in a game against Montreal and came up with a huge melon and I felt sick and nauseous,” he said. “But I woke up the next day and didn’t feel sick anymore, had X-rays on my jaw, and went to practice. I still felt a bit awkward in practice but I scored a goal in the next game.”

The second concussion resulted from an elbow to the jaw during overtime of a late-season game against the New York Rangers​. This time Svejkovsky said he felt off, “where you know something is wrong yet you don’t know what it is. I came back to the locker room and said to the trainer ‘I feel something weird, something’s different.’

“I would go for a walk and feel sick,” he said. “I was aware of my surroundings yet confused a little bit. I definitely, already at that time, knew what a concussion feels like.”

Since the concussion occurred late in the season, Svejkovsky had an extended period to recover and was anxious to return to play the following season.

“The only good thing about coming out of a concussion you knew exactly when you were ready,” he said. “There was no fear or anything like that.”

He was 23 years old when he began his fourth, and final, NHL season in 1999. He believed he was at a point physically where he was able to take on added ice time.

“I felt like I trained the same way as earlier but yet I can do more in the gym and be faster. I was excited about making the next step from just another guy in the NHL to perhaps being the guy.

But just as his confidence was growing, Svejkovsky suffered a knee injury prior to the start of the 2000-01 season. Tampa Bay asked him to play two games for the farm team (Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League) before returning full-time to Lightning. It was during the second of those games he was checked hard after playing a puck and knew right away he was in trouble.

“I had big and short-term memory loss and it was about eight months before I could drive. I never recovered in time to go back and play (the next season),” he said.

Svejkovsky said he never imagined he would ever suffer a concussion, but now believes he was fortunate to have not suffered more during his hockey career.

“I believed I was a hard guy to give a concussion to because I went to the net, got punched in the head, and all the things a goal scorer has to do,” he said. “I was pretty active and I think that’s why recovery for me was very, very long. For me, each concussion was different with significantly different symptoms.”

Following the last concussion, Svejkovsky was advised to take a long break from the game.

“I could stay home and get healthy and there was already a team out there interested in me (to play again),” he said. “I was excited and (thought) I’ll get healthy in year or two, but fortunately or unfortunately I just never got to the point where I got completely healthy. So once I started coaching that was my destiny, where I was good as playing and, who knows, maybe better. Working with players gave me brand new look at life. My dad was a professional coach and I thought maybe this is the avenue God wants me to go. But I never felt I didn’t want to go back and play. Even coming here six years ago to work with the Giants I felt if I got completely healthy I’d go back. But now I feel totally fulfilled this is the right thing for me and my family.”

The severity of concussions has become a hot-button topic, particularly in light of the 2010-11 injury that has sidelined Pittsburgh Penguins​’ star Sidney Crosby​ indefinitely.

But Svejkovsky said athletes have an inherent desire to compete, and sometimes adrenaline makes you want to play through if at all possible.

“It’s not any different than playing with a bad bruise or a pulled ligament,” he said. “I’ve been in that position and then you start finding out it’s way worse. (Crosby) has been going through the same type of things I went through as a player. You can sense a lot of compete from guys like that, but everybody is competitive on a different level. There’s a difference between being hurt and injured. You play injured and it could get way worse, (whereas) playing hurt with bruises and scrapes, that’s something where the pain is tolerated. But with injuries, especially concussions, sometimes being so competitive doesn’t help you.”

Svejkovsky believes concussions can be reduced if not eliminated by making players and officials aware of the difference between hitting and collisions and trying to take somebody out. He said the NHL is making great strides this year as are junior circuits like the Western Hockey League.

“Even in minor hockey there’s a head contact rule where you automatically get a four-minute penalty,” he said. “At the end of the day that by itself is really going to help the skill players, yet it’s also going to help the competitive player because nobody is taking body checking out of the game. You’re just trying to take penalties out of the game.”

Even in a non-hitting environment like Atom Division hockey, Svejkovsky said the players are taught to be aggressive because that’s a big part of the game. But they’re not being taught to elbow an opponent in the head or push them into the boards from behind.

Svejkovsky said taking interference out of the game has contributed to the sport being faster and more severe injuries. The game will slow down once players start thinking about how they’re going to hit, he added.

“When I look at hockey now I still see a great game that I think is going to get better because there are good people out there looking after it. Look at Brendan Shanahan (chief player disciplinarian for the NHL).

“You have a skilled yet very competitive guy. Who else (is better) to decide if this hit is to take a player out or just a competitive thing. Things happen fast and there are still going to be injuries.

“I’ve seen head injuries in basketball and different sports, but again I think steps are being made for (hockey) to be continuously a great game and more and more fun.”

Richmond B.C. – Entering the first week of August can only mean one thing at Richmond Ice Center – its time for NHL players to get back to work.

Derek Popke and his list of NHL clients have been working out at the Ice Center 3 days a week for the past couple of weeks. And to say the least, this list of NHL clients is impressive. I mean how often can you see 3 Stanley Cup Champions skating on the same sheet during the summer. Milan Lucic, Troy Brouwer, and Brent Seabrook all participate in skills and drills practices led by Derek Popke (NHL Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects 2009-2011). With a crowd of youth hockey players 2 rows deep around the glass, Popke puts the players through a series of flow drills, skating, and competitive situational drills. “This early in the summer, we do a lot of drills that keep the players moving. Some (players) have been skating longer than others, so its important to keep that in mind” stated Popke. While players like Florida Panther’s Jason Garrison, Nashville Predators Jon Blum, and Buffalo Sabres Shoane Morissonn have been skating with Popke for a few months now, LA Kings D man and former Canuck Willie Mitchell just laced them up for the first time this week. “Its always exciting when a player steps on the ice for the first time. They usually take a little ribbing from the other guys but its all in good fun” said Popke.

Keeping up with the crowds wanting to watch practices has become a challenge at times. Popke, who owns and runs Vancouver Hockey School ltd., also operates youth camps in conjunction with the pro skate. “I think it is great for our hockey school kids to see how hard these players train. The group (NHL) skates in the middle of the day so hockey school students are able to watch them practice” said Popke. “The first couple of years was a challenge for players trying to get to the dressing rooms after ice sessions but the rink has done a really good job with security in the last year. We give our hockey school students (Vancouver Hockey School) time with the players but other hockey schools sending their kids down for autographs presents a challenge at times” stated Popke.

Most of the players are at the Richmond Ice Center until the end of August. NHL training camps open up in early September.

Burnaby BC - Coaches from across the province and western Canada convened at the Delta Burnaby Hotel and Conference Centre for two days of presentations top professional coaches and experts in human performance.

Featured keynote presentations from Ryan Huska, Mark Holick, Kevin Constantine and World Junior Coach Don Hay rounded out the conference.  Joining some of the top hockey minds including Sports Phycologists Saul Miller was professional hockey skating coach Derek Popke.

Eager hockey coaches filled the room to take in Popke’s lecture on the foundation of skating. Popke’s lecture focused on the importance of developing players skating edges at all levels of the game. “Edges are the foundation of skating and are greatly ignored in the development process”. He went on to say ” we (as coaches) assume that players have strong edges simply cause they can skate “. Midway through his lecture, Popke played a video of WHL players struggling to perform proper tight turns and glide turns as the result of lack of edge control. ”It was very suprising to see the videos of the junior players ” stated minor hockey coach Danny Hildebrand. “Derek provided us with evidence that was very eye opening for all the coaches in the room”.

Popke provided a list of drills to coaches to help excelerate the development curve of a players skating at all levels. ” I really enjoyed helping out the coaches in attendance”. “I love sharing and learning, it only benefits the players” Popke stated.