The Kootenay International Junior Hockey League’s Kelowna Chiefs have made a coaching change, bringing aboard Dave Whistle as the team’s new Head Coach and General Manager.
Whistle has enjoyed success coaching both professionally and in junior hockey, including a number of stops in the Elite Ice Hockey League, the United Kingdom’s top professional league. He has coached the Belfast Giants, Cardiff Devils, Sheffield Steelers and Nottingham Panthers over a 20+ year career overseas, as well as home in B.C. with the BCHL’s Alberni Valley Bulldogs and with the Okanagan Rockets and the Pursuit of Excellence (now RINK) Academy AAA programs.
“Dave’s experience working with young players and being local to the Kelowna area made him a great fit to mentor our group,” says Chiefs owner Darren Tymchyshyn. “I look forward to watching our group grow under Dave’s leadership.”
Whistle takes over a Chiefs team that has posted a 6-7-0-2 record through 15 games and currently sits fifth in the Bill Ohlhausen Division standings with 14 points.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to join the Kelowna Chiefs organization and to contribute in a positive manner to its ongoing success,” says Whistle. “Having been on the ice today, I am really looking forward to working with the team and to build on the many strengths that were evident. I feel we have a team that is competitive and I can’t wait to be behind the bench with them this weekend.”
Whistle replaces Nick Deschenes, who joined the Chiefs in May and has had previous KIJHL coaching stops in Grand Forks, Summerland and Sicamous.
