MacLeod, Lajoie named Canada Winter Games head coaches

RED DEER - Carla MacLeod and Serge Lajoie will be at the helm of the Alberta squads competing in hockey at the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer.

Hockey Alberta kicked off “The Road to Red Deer” on Wednesday with the announcements that MacLeod is the head coach for the Team Alberta U18 Female team, and Lajoie is the head coach for the Team Alberta U16 Male team.

Both have previous experience in the Canada Winter Games and Team Alberta programs.

MacLeod was a member of Team Alberta as a player at two Canada Winter Games (1995 and 1999), and was the head coach of Team Alberta at the National Women’s U18 Championship in 2016. As a player, her international experience includes Olympic Gold Medals in 2006 and 2010. She also coached Team Japan at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Currently, she is the Midget Female Prep head coach at the Edge School for Athletes.

“This is a tremendous honour. It has been a goal to get back involved with the Canada Games. Having been involved as a player, it almost feels like I’m coming full circle to come back as a coach. I know the magnitude of the Games, and I’m excited to have a front-row seat to some kids living that dream,” said MacLeod.

Lajoie was an assistant coach with the Team Alberta Male squad that won the bronze medal at the 2011 Games in Halifax, and head coach of the gold medalist U16 male squad at the 2013 Western Canada Challenge Cup. He also was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the 2016 IIHF U18 World Championship. As a player, Lajoie participated in the inaugural Alberta Cup, winning a silver medal in 1986. Currently, he is the head coach of the University of Alberta Golden Bears.

“This is quite an honour and a privilege to have the opportunity to coach at the Canada Winter Games. I had the experience in 2011, and I know it is a big event,” said Lajoie. “I really look forward to the opportunity and the challenge to get the most out of the players and make it an experience they will remember for a long time.”

Bobby Fox will join Lajoie as the U16 Male team’s associate coach. Fox, currently an assistant coach with the Medicine Hat Tigers, has coached Team Alberta U16 squads twice, including as head coach of the gold medal squad at the 2015 Western Canada Challenge Cup.

Competition at the Canada Winter Games runs February 14-23, 2019 for the Male squad, and February 23-March 2 for the Female squad.

Assistant Coaches and Video Coaches

Hockey Alberta is now accepting applications for an Assistant Coach and a Video Coach for each Canada Winter Games squad. Application forms are available below:

Team Alberta U16 Male > | Team Alberta U18 Female >

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce the male rosters for the 2018 Alberta Winter Games.

Eight teams will take to the ice in Fort McMurray on February 16-19, with 160 2005-born male players ready to take the first step in the Team Alberta program. Two teams each were formed from the South (Zones 1 & 2), Calgary (Zones 3 & 4), Edmonton (Zones 5 & 6), and the North (Zones 7 & 8).

Twenty players comprise each roster, along with volunteers serving as head coach, assistant coaches, coach mentor, and director of operations. Rosters were selected based on performances at regional camps held November 23-26 in Fort Saskatchewan, Leduc, Olds and Calgary.

2018 Alberta Winter Games Male Rosters >

Female Alberta Winter Games Regional Selection Camps run December 8-10 in Morinville and Innisfail, with the female roster announcement to follow.

RED DEER - Hockey Alberta is pleased to announce the coaching staffs for the 2018 Alberta Winter Games.

The eight coaching staffs for the male program are comprised of one director of operations, one coach mentor, one head coach, and two assistant coaches. The six coaching staffs for the female program are comprised of one director of operations, one coach mentor, one head coach and one assistant coach.

Male Program Staffs > | Female Program Staffs >

Male Regional Selection Camps for the Alberta Winter Games kick off today (Thursday) and Friday across the province, while the female selection camps are set for December 8-10.

The Alberta Winter Games are set for February 16-19 in Fort McMurray.

QUEBEC CITY - For the second straight year, Team Alberta claimed fifth place at the National Women’s U18 Championship, wrapping up the tournament with a 4-1 win over Quebec.

Danielle Serdachny opened the scoring for Alberta just under seven minutes into the first, and Kassy Betinol doubled the lead with her second goal of the tournament midway through the second period. Chloe Puddifant and Mackenzie Butz added two more for Alberta to begin the third, before Quebec broke the shutout bid with just seven minutes to go for a 4-1 final.

In her second start of the tournament, goaltender Camryn Dever made 24 saves for the win, and was named Alberta’s Player of the Game. Both Drever and Erin Fargey finished the tournament with a 1-1 record in net.

Team Alberta Roster > | Box Score > | Game One Recap > | Game Two Recap > | Game Three Recap >

For more stats and information on the U18 Nationals, click here.

RED DEER - While members of the Greig family are no strangers to hockey accolades, brother and sister Ridly and Dara can now say they’ve made Hockey Alberta history.

With Ridly skating for Team Alberta’s U16 team at the 2017 WHL Cup, and Dara (for the second year) playing for the U18 squad at the 2017 U18 Nationals, the pair became the first brother and sister to play for Team Alberta at the same time.

“It’s been neat to share the Hockey Alberta process together, and to share and trade stories throughout the process,” said Dara. “It’s really cool to learn that we are the first brother and sister to represent Alberta in the same year, it’s something we can share for a lifetime.”

“I’ve enjoyed that Dara and I can talk about the experiences we’ve (both) had in making Team Alberta,” said Ridly. “To know that we are the first brother and sister to represent (Alberta) has been awesome.”

The apple apparently doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Ridly and Dara’s father, Mark, is a former professional hockey player. Drafted 15^th overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft, the former WHL standout is a veteran of over 1000 games as a pro, including 125 in the NHL.

“What a great honour for them to both have the opportunity, and be fortunate enough to make the teams,” said Mark. “They’ve talked about that in the past that they may have the experience together, and (we) feel pretty fortunate that it came true.”

With Dara already going through the Team Alberta process in 2016, Ridly was able to lean on his older sister and draw from her experience during his journey to the WHL Cup.

“The best advice Dara has given me regarding the Team Alberta process was the make sure I was prepared physically and mentally for all of the camps, prior to being selected.”

Prior to Ridly and Dara both being named to their respective Team Alberta rosters, the Greigs experienced another memorable hockey moment when Ridly won the 2017 Alberta Cup with Team South, exactly 30 years after Mark won the 1987 Alberta Cup with Calgary North.

“It’s great that years and years later, after I had such a wonderful experience, that this Hockey Alberta program is still going strong, and providing these experiences for the kids,” said Mark.

Ridly and Team Alberta narrowly missed out on a gold medal at the WHL Cup in October, losing 3-2 to Team BC in overtime. Meanwhile, Dara will be playing in the fifth-place game on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at the U18 Nationals in Quebec, after Team Alberta finished round-robin play with a 1-2 record.

Hockey Alberta is proud to unveil a new section at hockeyalberta.ca. Home Ice Feature stories will focus on interesting stories about the individuals and groups who make a difference within the hockey community in Alberta. If you have a suggestion for a Home Ice Feature story, email [email protected].