Township of Langley, BC, Tuesday, May 7, 2013: The Langley Rivermen Junior “A” Hockey Club is pleased to announce the hiring of Jon Calvano as Associate Coach and Assistant General Manager. Calvano comes to the Rivermen after being in the Coquitlam Express organization where he served as Head Coach for three years.
“It is the start of a new chapter in my life and I am really excited to join the Rivermen organization,” said Calvano, “the team is coming off a good year making the playoffs for the first time and I hope to come in and help the franchise in any way I can. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for the Henderson family and what they do and I am glad to get this opportunity to work with them.”
Calvano amassed a record of 92-87-3-4 in his three years as bench boss of the Express and made the playoffs twice. When asked how he would describe himself as a coach, he pointed out a few things that fans of the game always like to hear,
“I like to coach players that are skilled. Looking at the teams I have had in the past they always had a good combination of skill and speed and were excellent off the transition. I feel what I bring to the table combined with what Bobby and Kurt bring will make a solid staff,” Calvano continued.
Head Coach and General Manager Bobby Henderson has known Jon for quite some time now and believes he will be a tremendous asset to the coaching staff,
“We are excited to have Jon on board with us in the Rivermen organization,” said Rivermen Head Coach and General Manager Bobby Henderson, “it was an opportunity that presented itself and we felt as an organization we wanted to make it happen as we believe he can help our hockey club in many ways.”
Calvano has a strong track record of recruiting high end players to the BCHL and Henderson is happy to have him on his side rather than competing against him,
“Jon has established himself as one of the top recruiters in our league in the past couple of years. Looking at some of the players he has had on his teams in the past, it speaks for itself and he is not only good at getting them there, but also developing and moving them on to the next level.”
With a good amount of impact players returning next season for the ‘Men and a strong recruiting class coming in, Coach Calvano is not only excited for that, but also getting the chance to team up with two coaches he has a lot of respect for,
“Bobby has been around the BCHL for a long time and was passionate when he was playing and still brings that same passion to the bench, which is great. He knows the game and is well-connected in the hockey world and with Kurt, I had a chance to coach him for one season when he was with the Grandview Steelers and enjoyed being around him. He understands the game and has a good knowledge for it and I look forward to coaching with him at this level,” Calvano finished.
Rivermen season tickets are now available for the 2013-2014 season! Call 604-455-8832 for more information.
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