Hockey Manitoba is excited to announce the coaching staff for the 2024 Male Under-16 Program of Excellence that will compete at the 2024 WHL Cup in October 2024 in Red Deer, Alberta.

The Male Under-16 Team Manitoba roster will feature the province’s top male players born in 2009.  The WHL Cup is held each year, but is skipped every fourth season when the men’s hockey competition at the Canada Winter Games takes its place. Team Manitoba is defending WHL Cup Champions, having won the tournament in October 2023 for the first time in 10 years.

Leading Male U16 Team Manitoba behind the bench will be Jordan Wohlgemuth (Landmark), who is currently on the coaching staff with the Winnipeg Bruins U18 AAA. This will be Wohlgemuth’s first year as Head Coach of U16 Team Manitoba but his third year with the program as he was an Assistant Coach for U16 Team Manitoba in 2019 and 2021.

Wohlgemuth has 14 years of coaching and development experience.  Wohlgemuth was the Head Coach of the Winnipeg Bruins U18 AAA last season (2022-2023) and an Assistant Coach with the Bruins the year prior (2021-2022). Prior to coaching the Bruins, he coached the Winnipeg Sharks U15 AAA and the Eastman Selects U15 AAA. He has also coached at the U17 AAA level. He was an Assistant Coach with the Eastman Selects (2013-2015) and Winnipeg Hawks (2015-2017). Within the Eastman Region, Wohlgemuth coached the Spring Rising Stars program for two years (2014 & 2015) and was also involved with the region’s Directors Cup program in 2013.

Wohlgemuth will be joined by assistant coaches Devin Himpe (Dauphin) and Aaron Kaatz (Winnipeg). Devin Himpe is currently an Assistant Coach with the University of Manitoba Bisons Men’s Hockey Team as well as an on-Ice instructor for Jets Hockey Development. Himpe returns to the Male U16 POE program after working as an Assistant Coach with Team Manitoba at the 2023 Canada Winter Games in Prince Edward Island. He worked 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.

Aaron Kaatz will be the other Assistant Coach for U16 Team Manitoba and this will be his first year as a coach within the Hockey Manitoba Program of Excellence. For the past two seasons, Kaatz has been the Head Coach of the Interlake Lightning U18 AAA Male Program.  He is currently entering his 7th season of coaching AAA at the minor hockey level. Prior to being the Head Coach of the Interlake Lightning U18 AAA, he spent one season with Interlake’s U17 program. Kaatz spent five seasons with Winnipeg AAA Hockey and for the 2018-2019 season he was awarded the Wayne Fleming Coaching Scholarship from Sport Manitoba that recognized him for his determination to complete a post-secondary degree while head coaching a minor hockey team.

Director of Operations for the Male U16 POE will be Bernie Reichardt.

“We are very excited with the coaches we have assembled for this year’s Male U16 Program of Excellence. All three coaches bring a unique skill set and a wealth of coaching experience at various levels of hockey,” Bernie Reichardt said. “We look forward to having our coaches work alongside our athletes and staff while helping to defend our WHL Cup Championship that we won last year in Red Deer, Alberta.”

The 2024 Male U16 Program of Excellence process will begin with a Spring Selection Camp which will be held from April 5 – 7 at Scotiabank hockey for all centre in Winnipeg.

Following the Spring Selection Camp, the Male U16 POE Top-40 Camp will take place from May 9 – 12 in Brandon at J & G Arena.

Hockey Manitoba is pleased to recognize CCM Hockey and the Western Hockey League as Official Partners of the Program of Excellence. 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/.