Nelson Leafs close to finding new coach
By The Nelson Daily Sports
The Nelson Leafs has narrowed the field to selecting a successor to former skipper Frank Maida.
According to a person close to the selection process, the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League squad has boiled the long list of applicants down to four candidates.
It is believed that all four candidates are all from outside the Nelson area.
The final decision is now in the hands of the Leafs’ executive.
Maida decided to tender his resignation following the 2013-14 season.
Nelson hosted the 2014 Cyclone Taylor Cup; won by Murdoch Division rival Beaver Valley. The Nitehawks went on to win the Keystone Cup, emblematic of Western Canada Junior Hockey supremacy.
Nelson finished fourth at the Cyclone Taylor Cup and was the only team to take points from eventual champion Beaver Valley — playing to a 2-2 tie against the Nitehawks during the round robin in one of the best played games in brief history of the NDCC Arena.
Unfortunately, Maida, finishing with an overall record of 109-53-3-11, was unable to coach Nelson past the second round of the Murdoch Division playoffs, losing once to Castlegar and twice to Beaver Valley — the eventual KIJHL champs the past three seasons.
Leaf president Russell Stocks also resigned his position but will stay on as past president to allow the Heritage City franchise to make a smooth transition this upcoming season at the executive level.
