February 1, 2022
Three coaches who took teams to CCAA National Hockey Championships in the 1980's are among those who would be a part of Canadian Olympic Team coaching staffs at nine of ten events held from 1984 through 2018.
Mike Johnston, who directed the Camrose Lutheran CollegeĀ Vikings to a fourth place finish at the 1987 CCAA National Hockey Championship, was an assistant coach with the men's team in 1998 as they placed fourth at Nagano.
Mike Babcock, who coached the Red Deer College Kings to silver at the 1989 CCAA National Hockey Championship, was at the helm as head coach when the men's team brought home gold in 2010 at Vancouver and 2014 at Sochi.
Perry Pearn, who guided the NAIT Ooks to five CCAA National Championships in nine seasons (1982, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990) and a CCAA Challenge Cup (1992), served as an assistant coach with the women's team in 2018 as they captured silver at PyeongChang.
Likewise, three coaches who fell short in taking teams to CCAA National Hockey Championships also had their own Olympic experiences with teams donning the maple leaf.
Ray Bennett, who was the bench boss of the Red Deer College Kings for two seasons in the 1990's, was the video coach with the women's team in 1998 at Nagano when they turned in a silver medal performance.
Dale Henwood, who was the head coach of the NAIT Ooks for two seasons in the 1970's, was a goaltender coach with the men's team on three occasions beginning with the 1984 event in Sarajevo and concluding with the 1992 event in Albertville where Canada took silver.
Jacques Martin, who was behind the bench of the Algonquin College Cats for three seasons in the 1970's, was an assistant coach with the 2002 and 2006 men's teams. The 2002 team won gold in Salt Lake.
In addition to the coaches, a number of players who participated in the CCAA national championships also donned jerseys at the Olympics including a pair of tournament most valuable players - Serge Roy & Matt Kabayama.