Mick Takes POE Hockey Post:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Mick takes POE hockey post

By Kevin Mitchell - Vernon Morning Star

Published: June 01, 2010

Vernon's Troy Mick was just minding his own business with the Revelstoke Grizzlies when the call came last week.

Negotiations went well and fast, and Mick is now the newly created Director of Hockey Operations and Player Development with Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy in Kelowna.

"It blew my socks off how fast everything happened," said Mick, 41. "I hadn't put my resume out there to any junior A teams or anything. I was fully expecting to return to Revelstoke."

Mick, who guided the Vernon Vipers to the 1999 Royal Bank Cup title, led the Grizzlies to the Western Canadian Keystone Cup junior B crown this spring in Kamloops.

Mick, who signed a five-year contract with POE owner David Roy, looks forward to spending more time at home after commuting from the North Okanagan and riding the KIJHL bus last season

"The biggest thing is I'll be able to see my family every night. My family's ecstatic. My wife (Roxanne) has been my rock for almost 20 years of marriage. We've been all over North America for hockey and this gives us some stability closer to home."

Mick, who has also been a head coach in the Western Hockey League, will run the Rutland office and head recruitment for POE. He has helped groom players for the NHL and WHL, and has also sent more than 100 players to the NCAA and CIS.

Mick played his minor hockey in Vernon, and after one season with the Merritt Centennials, amassed 466 WHL points in 267 games with Portland and Regina. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988 and signed a four- year contract.

“The POE program strives to help the kids get to the next level and I’m looking forward to being a part of it,” said Mick, whose son Logan, 13, will play for the academy's Bantam team.

“Troy has unbelievable energy," said Roy. "He has a passion for kids and a passion for excellence. He believes whole heartedly in our philosophy of developing the 360-degree player. He is a humble man who believes in 'team' all the way from what happens in our office to what happens on the ice, from staff to coaches to players. "

Roy, who coached the Female Midget team last year, will become Director of Skating and Personal Development. Mick will remain a minority owner of the Grizzlies, and help them find a new coach-GM.