There is another new addition to the Ghostriders for the 2013/14 season. The team has signed Dale Hladun, better known in the junior hockey world as ‘Duner’, as the Riders new head coach and general manager.
“I’m very excited,” stated Hladun. “I’ve been in the league a long time so I know a bit about Fernie. I also coached in Bozeman when Fernie was an America West team, so it was always a nice place to come, and I always remembered how good the fans were and how good the organization is.”
Hladun has spent time coaching in several different towns, including Bozeman, Quesnel, Cowichan, and Comox. He spent the last eight and a half years making his mark on the Princeton Posse. The influential coach set several franchise records while with the team; 34 overall wins, 70 overall points, finishing fourth overall in the KIJHL for wins, and sixth overall for points.
“A big part of me is in Princeton,” he remarked. “We established a lot of new things, I talked about leaving a legacy with the kids, and yeah, it’s very, very difficult to leave.”
Hladun is now ready to say goodbye to Princeton and hello to Fernie. “It’s a new division and I’m looking forward to coming here to a new place and meeting new people, getting involved in the community and the area,” he said. “I’m the kind of guy that likes to explore, so when I’m not in the rink I’m going to be touring and checking out the area, so I’m excited just to be here.”
He went on to say, “There has always been a good core of players here over the years, it’s a destination a lot of players want to come to, so right away, [former coach Barry Wolff] is leaving me a good crew of kids. I know that I’ve been on the road a lot and I’ve seen lots of kids, and I’m pretty confident that we’ll have an extremely competitive club here right out of the gate.”
Hladun is currently in Fernie to meet the Ghostriders new president, Barb Anderson, and the team’s executive. He hopes to be moved and a full-time resident of Fernie by the end of June.