Hockey Manitoba is excited to announce the coaching staff for the 2022-2023 Male Under-16 Program of Excellence that will compete at the 2023 Canada Winter Games (February 18th to February 26th, 2023, in Prince Edward Island) as well as the roster for the Spring Selection Camp that will take place from April 8-10, 2022 in Niverville, Manitoba.

“Our Male U16 Program of Excellence coaching staff has a wealth of experience at various levels of hockey and we are excited to have them working with our provincial team,” said Bernie Reichardt, Hockey Manitoba Director of Development. “We are looking forward to holding our Spring Selection Camp from April 8th to 10th in Niverville at their new Community Resource and Recreation Centre as part of the Manitoba Games Sport Series.”

Leading Male U16 Team Manitoba behind the bench will be Taras McEwen, who is currently the Head Coach and General Manager of the Winnipeg Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. McEwen joined the Blues in 2019 as the team’s General Manager and was hired as the Head Coach prior to the 2020-2021 season. McEwen has experience with the SaskFirst Hockey Program as a coach and with Team Saskatchewan (Male U16) as an assistant coach.

McEwen spent time as the assistant coach of the Notre Dame Hounds in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League for one season before moving on to becoming the Manager of Scouting for the WHL’s Winnipeg ICE in 2017. McEwen is currently a Senior Scout for the ICE.

McEwen will be joined by assistant coaches Devin Himpe and Ian Duval. Himpe is currently an On-Ice Instructor for Jets Hockey Development and he returns to the Male U16 POE program after working as a Video Coach/Coordinator of Male U16 Team Manitoba in 2015 and 2016. Himpe has been an Assistant Coach with the University of Manitoba Bisons men’s hockey team since the 2015-16 season.

Ian Duval is currently an Assistant Coach with the RINK Hockey Academy Under-15 Prep Team and this will be his first year with the Male U16 Program of Excellence. Duval’s playing career included five years in the Western Hockey League (Regina Pats, Calgary Hitmen, Moose Jaw Warriors, Kelowna Rockets) and five years with the University of Manitoba Bisons.

The Male U16 Program of Excellence process will begin in early April with the Spring Selection Camp which will be held April 8-10, 2022 in Niverville. Following the Spring Selection Camp, approximately forty players will be invited to the POE Top-40 Camp which will be held from May 5-8, 2022 in Portage la Prairie.

The Male U16 Program of Excellence is the first step in the Hockey Canada Male Program of Excellence. Athletes who participate in the U16 POE begin to receive the exposure to skills and concepts that are vital for success at the Major Junior, NCAA, USport and National levels. Many athletes from the U16 Program of Excellence go on to success with the U17, U18 and World Junior Teams as a part of the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence.

Hockey Manitoba is pleased to recognize Canad Inns, CCM Hockey and the Western Hockey League as Official Partners of the Program of Excellence, along with Gatorade as the Official Sport Drink of Hockey Manitoba. The POE is our high performance program that offers developing athletes who are on track to be elite with the opportunity to represent their province while providing a solid development path to the National and International stages.

For more information about the Hockey Manitoba Program of Excellence please visit www.hockeymanitoba.ca/programs/poe/.