Mark Chase (left) returns to the SJHL as the Nipawin Hawks' new assistant coach after he previously spent two seasons with the Melville Millionaires from 2016 to 2018 (submitted photo/Mark Chase).

By Aaron Schulze

Hawks' New Assistant Coach

Mark Chase returns to the SJHL as the Hawks’ new assistant coach

Jul 23, 2019 | 6:22 PM

When Devin Windle stepped down from the Nipawin Hawks as their assistant coach after the 2019 Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) playoffs to take the same role with the Whitecourt Wolverines in Alberta, a spot opened on the Nipawin bench.

It ended up being Windle’s former assistant during his run as head coach of the Melville Millionaires in the SJHL who would assume the role left behind.

Mark Chase was officially announced as the Hawks’ new assistant coach on Tuesday, July 22. He said he’s sure the connection and a reference from Windle played a big part in Head Coach and General Manager Doug Johnson hiring him, but their conversations over the phone still went seamless.

“It wasn’t a rigorous process when it came to the interview,” Chase told northeastNOW. “It wasn’t one sided conversations, which I really liked with Doug. Being an assistant coach coming in, I’m interested in learning from him, but I also wanted to make sure I would be able to contribute. I believe in myself and my abilities as well, so I want to be able to express that to be players and be a part of their development.”

Chase is a relatively younger coach at 33 but he started his career at an even younger age at 16 when he decided to pursue coaching instead of playing junior hockey.

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“My parents always told me that as long as I was going to school and pursuing my undergraduate degree, coaching on the side would be totally acceptable,” he said. “Once I graduated, I decided I would take some time just to pursue coaching as far as I could see it go.”

As a former goaltender in Kamloops, B.C., Chase started working with the goaltender of one of his friend’s father’s peewee teams, and caught the coaching bug ever since. He served as head coach of the Thompson Blazers of the British Columbia Major Midget League from 2013 to 2015, assistant coach for the Millionaires from 2016 to 2018. He was head coach of the Osoyoos Coyotes of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League in 2018-19.

Over the years, Chase has moved away from the goaltending aspect of coaching and focuses on developing defensive and breaking down special teams.

Chase said he hasn’t had many detailed conversations with Johnson yet regarding how the Hawks will look in 2019-20 or what systems they’ll use, although he imagines those conversations will pick up once he and his fiancée move to Nipawin in mid-August.

“I know they have a strong returning group a set of young guys last year who I’m sure Doug’s enthusiastic to have back and contribute even more,” he said. “Right now, as I’m a little bit removed from everything, I’m working on trying to identify potential players that might be a good fit for this upcoming season or even the following season that come from this area (Kamloops).

“When it comes to systems, structures, and strategy, I think those are things Doug already has laid out in his mind and he’s specifically said we don’t need to fix anything that’s not broken, which I 100 per cent agree with. You might see a lot of what Doug has done over the last number of years being implemented again for the upcoming season.

“I do know he’s a strong junior hockey coach and always open to new ideas, and hopefully that’s where I can come in and be a strong, positive fit for him too.”

Chase said he’s excited to get back to the SJHL and visit friends and colleagues he met during his tenure with the Millionaires. But most importantly, he’s excited to be on the home bench inside Centennial Arena.

“I always dreaded heading to Nipawin when I was with Melville,” Chase said with a laugh. “Being in that area, the Hawks fans certainly get their team going. Now I’m excited to be on the other side of things when they’ll be cheering for us.”

The Hawks open their pre-season schedule on Sept. 1 against the Flin Flon Bombers before they kick off their regular season against their rival Melfort Mustangs on Sept. 13.

Both games will take place at Centennial Arena.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow