As the 2018 season comes upon us, we are starting a new era of Nanooks hockey. While there have been three different head coaches in as many years, both Lance West, and now Erik Largen were not new to the program. While I don't personally like how the transition of powers went down in the spring, the team is in a solid place right now. Erik Largen is a hometown guy, an alumni of the program, and has a great mind for the sport. With the addition of Karlis Zirnis and Joe Howe, I'm ready for an evolution of Alaska Hockey. While what that looks like remains to be seen, there is a theme of optimism and positive energy throughout the team right now that is almost palpable.
The Nanooks' first official team practice is Monday, and I'm looking forward to seeing the format and how engaged the team is. Of course this is also the first look at the freshmen, and I'm excited about their potential. With 10 freshman suiting up, that's about a third of the total roster. And there is a lot of talent there that I'll get into at a later point.
I had a chance to sit down with Nanooks head coach Erik Largen to get his thoughts as he prepares to get the season started. I still intend to focus more of my time on these videos as I think they're a bit more beneficial than my written prose, and you get more than just my own opinions. That said, I do want to write more and make this blog a place to visit again.
Saturday, September 15, 2018
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Head Coach Erik Largen
I don't think I envisioned that title being a reality a month or two ago. But through adversity comes opportunity for Erik and the Nanooks next season. Erik fought for the viability for the program and UAF is committing long term both to Erik and the team--full scholarships, boosted recruiting budget, better salaries for assistant coaches, and a stable operating budget.
Being involved with the FaceOff Club the last couple of years, a lot has weighed on the boosters to fund things like team activities and meals while they're on the road. Some of that will still happen I'm sure, but hopefully this will allow us to invest in other fundraising opportunities and get more into our scholarship fund.
As you know I haven't had much time to write much. Between my full time job, some side work gigs, and some modicum of a personal life. If you haven't followed me on YouTube, you can catch up on some of the videos I've posted on the channel the past two years. It's a lot less time for me to throw up a camera with someone that you want to listen to than to spend time researching and hours writing these posts. It does take a lot of effort, and I took a bit of pride in it. For those that followed here, I hope you will follow the videos too.
Follow the Nanooks Hockey Blog on YouTube
Being involved with the FaceOff Club the last couple of years, a lot has weighed on the boosters to fund things like team activities and meals while they're on the road. Some of that will still happen I'm sure, but hopefully this will allow us to invest in other fundraising opportunities and get more into our scholarship fund.
As you know I haven't had much time to write much. Between my full time job, some side work gigs, and some modicum of a personal life. If you haven't followed me on YouTube, you can catch up on some of the videos I've posted on the channel the past two years. It's a lot less time for me to throw up a camera with someone that you want to listen to than to spend time researching and hours writing these posts. It does take a lot of effort, and I took a bit of pride in it. For those that followed here, I hope you will follow the videos too.
Follow the Nanooks Hockey Blog on YouTube
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