Rick McConnell will continue as head coach and Danny Carels will return as an assistant coach.
Rick is a native of Pilot Mound where he played his minor hockey. He went on to play four seasons with the Pembina Valley Hawks in the Manitoba AAA Midget League, the Winkler Flyers of the MJHL, and later the Pilot Mound Pilots of the THHL. McConnell began his coaching career in 1992. Rick has been coaching with Pilot Mound Hockey Academy since its inception in 2015 with the Male U17 Prep Program.
Some of his coaching highlights include coaching the PV Hawks AAA Midgets for 11 seasons, being quite successful, and winning the League Championship in 1996. During that time he was selected to coach the Western AAA All Stars on 6 occasions. Several years were spent coaching his boys in minor hockey as well as helping lead the Pilot Mound Senior team to a League Championship. Rick also led the PMHA Midget Varsity Buffaloes to a CSSHL Championship in 2020, and a NAPHL Championship in 2023. Rick is also employed by Prairie Spirit School Division and works at Pilot Mound Collegiate Institute. Rick also scouts for the Neepawa Natives of the MJHL.
Danny is also a familiar face as this will be his fourth season with Pilot Mound Hockey Academy. He spent two seasons coaching the U15 Program before transitioning to the U17 program last fall. Previously, Danny coached the AA Pembina West U15 Program for 5 years, as well as the Pembina Tigers High School Program. Danny is part of the Carels & Carels Skill Development Camps and is a talented skills instructor. Danny is currently enrolled in High Performance Coaching Certification through Hockey Manitoba. Danny is well known in the hockey world, having coached and played his minor hockey in Holland and later throughout the area; finishing off his playing with the Swan Lake Cougars. Danny scouts for the Dauphin Kings of the MJHL.
Rick and Danny are looking forward to a successful campaign with the Male U17 Prep program next season!
#FearTheBuffs #HockeyAcademy #PMHA #StudentAthletes
