Noel Kingwell has been coaching for over two decades, and will now get a chance to do so with Saskatchewan's para hockey team in the spring. (Submitted photo/Noel Kingwell)

By Martin Martinson

A New Opportunity

Kingwell to coach Team Sask at 2024 Canadian Para Hockey Championship

Dec 21, 2023 | 3:00 PM

North Battleford’s Noel Kingwell has been named head coach of Team Saskatchewan for the 2024 Canadian Para Hockey Championship in Ontario this May.

Taking place in Port Colborne, ON., May 16-19, the event will mark just the third year Team Saskatchewan has competed on the national para hockey stage, and the first under the umbrella of Hockey Saskatchewan’s Sask First Program, after operating previously as a part of Saskatchewan Wheelchair Sports.

Kingwell said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to be a part of this new chapter for the para hockey game in the province.

“It is always special when you get to be a part of Team Saskatchewan, be it as a head coach, video coach, or even just getting to be around the team and part of the support staff,” Kingwell said. “It’s always an honour to be able to represent our province and home, and the opportunity as well sort of breaking new ground with Hockey Saskatchewan with para hockey makes it doubly exciting.”

Coming off a silver medal with Saskatchewan at the National Women’s U18 Championship in 2019, Kingwell has worked as a coach clinician with Hockey Sask the last decade, in addition to running grassroots development clinics and his hockey skill development program, Klutch Hockey.

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Having stepped in briefly, as interim head coach of the Battlefords Sharks U18 AAA team last season, to help ease the team’s front-office transition, he said the experience also reignited the competitive fire within, to work with a team hands-on over several months.

“Between my experience last year with the Sharks and getting back into competitive hockey as opposed to the work that I do with Hockey Saskatchewan as a coach facilitator, it scratched that itch for competition,” he said. “So to go into this hockey season, to be able to start a program, take it on for six months, and try to have it in a position where we can compete at nationals was something that was very exciting for me.”

He added that while there are some adjustments to consider when it comes to coaching the para game for the first time – from the smaller roster sizes to shorter periods, and the inability to skate backwards in the sledge hockey ‘sleds’ – it’s been a welcome challenge for him and assistant coaches Wayne Nogier (Melfort) and Braden Close (Kindersley), each of whom also bring their valuable insights to the table.

“Wayne is one of my best friends in hockey and he and I go back about a decade working with Hockey Saskatchewan,” Kingwell said. “He’s a master coach developer with me and coach clinician, and Braden is a para-athlete who played a lot of years with Team Alberta, so that combination of Wayne and I’s coaching over the last 20ish years and Braden’s experience playing the para game I think is a really good combination. Braden is able to sort of shed light on the nuances of the game.”

Together the coaching staff are currently in the process of forming their team for next spring’s tournament, having just held their first camp last weekend in Outlook, SK., beginning the process of building the roster.

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @MartyMartyPxP1