Bill Rotheisler — video coach of the Team Pacific squad that won a bronze medal at the 2011 U17 world hockey championship — is the new head coach of the Comox Valley Glacier Kings.
The 29-year-old is excited to join the team as it prepares to host the 2013 Cyclone Taylor Cup, which serves as the BC Hockey championship for Junior B hockey.
"I'm confident it will be a good year," he said. "It's a perfect time. Everybody has a common goal."
A former scout for the BCHL Alberni Bulldogs, Rotheisler spent the past two seasons with the Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in Kelowna. He also spent three seasons at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton where he was program director/writer for the International Development Tournament.
He is the youngest coach to attend the biannual NCCP High Performance 2 seminar — the highest level coaching certification program in Canada — was a presenter at last year's seminar.
Rotheisler splits his time between his birthplace of Calgary and Penticton. Before moving to the latter, he worked at National Sports Development in Calgary and was head coach of the Bantam AAA Bisons and Junior B Blackhawks. He won a provincial championship and consecutive city championships as a minor hockey coach.
During this time Rotheisler began establishing himself as an IDT (International Development Tournament) coach in the Okanagan where he would spend seven summers as an instructor, coach and eventually program director.
Rotheisler continues to have a presence in Calgary, running camps for former players now competing at the junior level.
The Glacier Kings hope he will be settled in time for next month's tryout camp.
Last season, under the leadership of Jordan Butcher, the Kings finished atop the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League's North Division in the regular season, then lost in the opening round of playoffs. reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com