“We are looking forward to seeing our Returning Players, Newly Committed players and prospects this weekend as we host a mid summer Prep Camp”
Contact our Head Coach and GM Jesse Hammill at 250 797 4249 or gm@oceansidegenerals.com if you have any questions or are interested in attending.
#gogens #weareallgenerals
The Quality Foods Oceanside Generals participated to once again a successful Canada Day Parade and Canada Day Activities in Beautiful Parksville, British Columbia.
The Generals are really proud of participating in Community Activities like this in Parksville.
The Quality Foods Oceanside Generals next Community Activities will beach at the Kids Beach Fest in Parksville in August.
The Quality Foods Oceanside Generals will be participating in the Canada Day activities in Beautiful Parksville, British Columbia.
Join the Generals for the Canada Day Parade and Join them at the Park for Canada Day Activities.
More Info to Come…
The Quality Foods Oceanside Generals have shuffled their administration as they prepare for their next Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League season.
Topping the list of changes was Gerry Bickerton’s resignation as head coach. He was handed a new role as president at the Generals’ annual general meeting held on May 8.
Jesse Hammill, who was hired midway through last season as general manager, has agreed to take over the head coaching responsibility. He will also continue to serve as general manager.
The Generals are also bringing back last season’s assistant coaches, Chris Lennox and Scott Bickerton.
“They are a few changes which we think are all positive and hopefully it’s gonna reflect that next season moving forward,” said Bickerton.
Hammill is no stranger to coaching, said Gerry Bickerton. He has been involved with hockey since a very young age. He played at all levels of minor and junior hockey before pursuing a professional career in Europe where he both coached and managed.
Bickerton said they’re aiming to be a lot more competitive next season and hoping to win more games.
“It’s important for us to have a full culture change, both off and on the ice,” said Bickerton
“There’s a lot of stuff and reasons why I made the move that I did to push the organization forward from an off-ice standpoint and basically get Jesse to push it from an on-ice standpoint. So we will see a lot of changes from both areas. It’s going to be a lot of work but we are really excited for it.”
The Generals have been busy recruiting players as well. They recently got commitments from two defencemen, Erik Hanus, who played with the North Island Silvertips of the BC Major Midget League, and Brandon Hannibal, who last year played for the Nanaimo Clippers Midget Tier 1 and was an affiliate player with the Generals where he played eight games.
Hanus, who stands at six foot five inches, could be an imposing figure on the Generals’ blue line. He is a strong, physical defenseman who can bring a steady supply of hard work and team play. Hannibal is a 5’7 smooth skater who sees the ice well and can execute great first passes.
The Generals will hold their main camp August 11-13.
Bickerton said he expects some of his veteran players to return but he won’t know for sure until they find out results of their Junior A tryouts.
“We as an organization want our players to progress to the next level,” said Bicketon.
During the course of the summer, the Generals plan to take part in some of the community events that include the Canada Day Parade on July 1 and helping at Beach Fest in August.
New to the VIJHL for the 2017/18 season, a VIJHL TV time-out.
For many Island fans, it was at the Cyclone Taylor Cup in Creston that they first witnessed this strange break midway through each period.
At the first stoppage in action, not involving a penalty or icing, after the 10 minute mark of the period, the officials will call a one minute time-out. This break won’t impact the traditional 30 second time-out each team is guaranteed.
According to VIJHL President, Barb Byrne, “This is a great idea that can assist the teams and the officials. It’s a great strategy for assisting Officials in bringing teams under control and allowing coaching staff to better communicate with their players.” This isn’t the first time the league president has witnessed these time-outs, “after seeing this in play at the last Cyclone Taylor Cup and working with it during my WHL time, I believe this will be a great addition to our games.”
Wes Roed, the Campbell River Storm Governor, saw the usefulness of the time-outs when his club was at the Cyclone, “having witnessed the effective use of 1 minute time-outs at the CTC, I thought it worthy to bring this idea to the Board of Governors for consideration.”
Wes sees the key advantage of the new time-out is in player development, “from a coaching perspective, what coach wouldn’t want to have 3 extra time-outs per game to keep the boys on track.”
The Board of Governors liked what they heard. According to Wes, “much to my delight, the board passed this proposal to be implemented this season.”
Josh Lockhart, whose ‘Nitros Night in Kimberley’ blog is a mainstay of the KIJHL Dynamiters’ website, says the timeouts have benefits, “it gives the players, fans and webcasts a breather and allows the webcast crew and arena announcer to share sponsored commercials.”
Game 1 of the VIJHL regular season kicks off on September 1 in Campbell River when the Storm host the Oceanside Generals.
*Article from the VIJHL Website
The Oceanside Generals are very excited to announce that Jesse Hammill has accepted the job of Head Coach. Jesse will take over the Bench and will still maintain his current role as General Manager.
“Our Team is lucky to have a Coach with Jesse’s experience” states team president Gerry Bickerton. “Jesse will be able to use his new role as GM/Head Coach to really build the type of team that we want the Generals to be.”
Jesse has been involved with Hockey since a very young age and played at all levels of Minor and Junior before pursuing a professional career in Europe where he both Coached and Managed.
Jesse has three young sons and we expect to see them in the rink helping the Generals on Game Days. We are happy to have all of them on board.
The Oceanside Generals are pleased to announce that they have retained our Assistant Coaches from Last Season. Chris Lennox and Scott Bickerton will be back for the 2017/2018 Season to work with new Head Coach Jesse Hammill. “Chris and Scott are both looking forward to helping to take the Generals to the next level this coming season” states Team President Gerry Bickerton. “Both men share our Club’s goal of getting our players to the next level of Junior and Collegiate Hockey and are completely committed to supporting our many community events in the Oceanside area”. #gogens #whateverittakes
The Oceanside Generals Junior Hockey Club is pleased to annouce that we have Appointed Gerry Bickerton as our new Team President.
Gerry has been involved with the Generals for the past couple of seasons as an Assistant Coach and this past season as Head Coach.
Gerry checks a lot of boxes for what we want in a leader for the Generals. He is an established Professional in the Personal Finance and Insurance Industry and he has spent many years involved in hockey. Gerry is a devoted family man and this move also helps him strike a perfect balance for his business and family life.
Gerry’s goal is to help the Generals continue to develop local players to the next level of Junior and Collegiate Hockey while assuring they become the future leaders in our community.
Thanks to all the Players that attended our Spring ID Camp this weekend. We were impressed by your work ethic and compete level. Congrats to the Red Team for winning the Finals and we look forward to seeing a number of you at Main Camp and beyond. Have a great summer and be ready !
#gogens