The South Island Thunderbirds

The South Island Thunderbirds team is one of 11 teams participating in the BC Major Midget League. This league was established in 2004 to provide elite level 15, 16 and 17 year olds an opportunity to play within their own age group at a high level and be developed and prepared for junior hockey leagues and beyond.  The top six teams advance to the league’s playoffs in March with the champion then facing Alberta’s playoff winner for the right to compete as the Pacific representative in the National Midget Championship (the “Telus Cup”).

The Thunderbirds’ schedule will take the team to the Lower Mainland (Vancouver/Richmond), Burnaby, Langley, Abbotsford/Chilliwack and Ridge Meadows), Nanaimo, Prince George, Kamloops, Kelowna and the Kootenays with 20 away games and 20 home games in the regular season.

For the 2010-11 season, the Thunderbirds’ home games will be played at various venues including Bear Mountain Arena, the Victoria Racquet Club’s arena in the Ian Stewart Complex at the University of Victoria and Panorama Recreation Centre. The team will practice out of Bear Mountain and Jdf, with home at Bear Mountain.

The head coach for the Thunderbirds for the 2010-11 season is Craig Didmon. Craig brings a wealth of experience to the team having coached most recently in the BCHL.   Craig has well over fifteen years experience of coaching hockey and twelve years of experience teaching.  Craig is currently the head instructor of the expanding Hockey Canada Skills Academy that he runs out of Spencer Middle School.  Craig also spent two years working with Geoff Courtnall as the associate coach of the Victoria Grizzlies. He joined the Grizzlies after a successful five year stint as Head Coach and General Manager of The Victoria Cougars (Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League).  Assistant coaches are Scott Hawthorne, Kevin Fitzpatrick, Jeff Birrell and Rob Armstrong.  The team manager is Ron Walchuk. The team trainer and conditioning coach is Dave Warbeck.

Craig and the entire coaching staff are looking forward to a successful year for the Thunderbirds.