Lakehead Thunderwolves Hockey and Head Coach Don McKee are very proud to announce the new coaching staff for the 2007-08 season. Returning from last years staff are assistant coach Darrin Nicholas and strength and conditioning coach Steve Bailot.
Ron Rost also returns as head trainer and equipment manager while Brandon Kerr returns as assistant trainer. New to this years staff is assistant coach Bob Bodak; a Lakehead hockey alumnus with professional playing and coaching experience.
Coach McKee said this years staff is a very qualified and experienced group. I am excited about this staff. The Thunderwolves coaching and training staff will be a blend of old and new. I feel this coaching staff brings a balance of expertise in offensive and defensive hockey to the team. Coach Darrin Nicholas and Fitness Coach Steve Bailot will be returning from last year's staff. Joining them will be new assistant coach Bob Bodak. The training staff will again be led by the experienced Ron Rost and his assistant Brandon Kerr and together I believe we have the right staff to take the Wolves to the next level.
Meet The Staff:
Darren Nicholas:
Assistant Coach Darrin Nicholas is back for his sixth season with the Wolves. Nicholas has extensive coaching experience outside the Thunderwolves including the Thunder Bay Kings Minor Hockey program, the Thunder Bay Flyers Junior A team, as well as being a regional scout for the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL.
Nicholas said he is looking forward to the new season. I am very proud and excited to be behind the bench again for the Thunderwolves as an assistant coach. Coach McKee has already held several extremely productive meetings with his coaching staff, and Im sure the players, staff and fans alike will feed off the energy, enthusiasm, passion and knowledge that he will bring to the program. Not that I want to wish the summer away, but I am very much looking forward to the opening of training camp this year.
Nicholas is married to wife Keri and has two sons, Evan and Nolan who are both stick boys with the Wolves. He graduated from Lakehead with a Bachelor of Administration degree in 1990 and is currently Branch Manager for Canada Borderlink Insurance Brokers in Thunder Bay. He enjoys golf, music, and movies in his free time.
Bob Bodak: Assistant Coach
Bodak is a Thunder Bay native and Lakehead graduate who played hockey for the then Lakehead NorWesters. He is on the only Lakehead player to have ever played in the NHL; with Calgary and Hartford. He had an extensive pro career in the AHL and the IHL from 1983-1991.
Bodak said he is excited to return to his alma mater as an assistant coach. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with the Thunderwolves organization alongside Don McKee, Darrin Nicholas, and the rest of the staff. I am also looking forward to passing along some hockey and life experiences to these young athletes on our shared hockey journey.
He has been an assistant coach with the Erie Panthers of the ECHL and the Thunder Bay of the Colonial Hockey League. Bodak runs two home-based businesses, Nikken Inc. and Fuel Freedom International, with his wife Cindy. The couple have one son; Bryce.
Steve Bailot: Fitness and Conditioning Coach.
Baillot is back for his second year as the teams strength and conditioning coach. Baillot was one of the "pioneers"; a member of the Thunderwolves inaugural season squad in 2001-02. He graduated from Lakehead with a degree in Science. Steve works as a trainer at The Athletic Club in Thunder Bay. He enjoys working out and golfing in his free time.
Ron Rost: Head Trainer
Ron "Rooster" Rost returns for his seventh season behind the bench as the Thunderwolves' maestro team trainer and equipment manager.
Rost said he is looking forward to the new season. I am excited to work with new coach and new staff a