The Thunder Cats front office got allot deeper on Wednesday with the addition of former Head Coach of the Dawson Creek Junior Canucks of the Northwest Junior Hockey League, Mark Readman.
Readman moves to Creston to accept the position of Assistant General Manager and Assistant Coach of the Creston Valley Thunder Cats. The 25-year-old Readman has amassed allot of experience in his short amount of time since transitioning from his playing career.
Last season he took over as Head Coach of the Junior Canucks after holding the Assistant General Manager and Assistant Coach role for two seasons prior to that. In addition to his coaching duties he also acted as the Head Scout and was an active member of the Board of Directors for the club.
Readman has also served on the Board of Directors for Dawson Creek Minor Hockey and was Head Coach of the Bantam AA Canucks, Assistant Coach for the North East Trackers and has worked as a coach for BC Hockey.
Readman comes very highly recommended and is highly regarded in BC Hockey circles. As someone who is known as an excellent coach and communicator far beyond his years, Readman has developed a reputation and expertise for running efficient and successful programs. Last season, his Canucks finished 3rd place in his inaugural season running a junior hockey bench. Readman, a student of the game as much as a teacher, brings his understanding of an evolving game and strategy to Thunder Cats room, and completes a management staff focused on bringing a pace pushing style of play.
Prior to coaching, Readman played his junior hockey for the Dawson Creek Canucks, starting as an affiliate player in 2012, up until 2017, with the exception of 2013-14 when he suited up for the Ontario Avalanche of the Western States Hockey League in California.
General Manager and Head Coach Bill Rotheisler commented; “We are beyond thrilled to welcome Mark to our staff here in Creston. We were patient in our search for what we believe is an especially important position this season for multiple reasons. We took our time because we were not prepared to settle and couldn’t be happier with how things progressed”. Rotheisler continued on his reputation, “the level of respect this young man has attained amongst our coaching peers is admirable. Other coaches not only recommended him but went out of their way to praise his ability and verbalize their own desire to work with him, this was a consistent praise of his”. Rotheisler went on to explain the fit that Readman brought to their staff and how the Thunder Cats were looking for someone who had both experience being a first assistant, as well as experience running his own program.
Readman will join the staff of the Thunder Cats beginning next week.
