Williamson & Former Viper Pierce Named To Canada West Coaching Staff:

Vernon Vipers Head Coach-GM Jason Williamson & former Vernon Vipers forward Luke Pierce (2003-04) have been named to the WJAC Canada West Coaching Staff.

This is posted on the BCHL website:

Coaches named for 2014 WJAC, Pierce and Williamson on Canada West Staff

Monday, August 25, 2014 - Submitted by CJHL Media

CALGARY, Alta. – The Canadian Junior Hockey League, in partnership with Hockey Canada, announced today that Trent Cassan, head coach and general manager of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Yorkton Terriers, will be the head coach of Canada West at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge, scheduled for Dec. 14-20 in Kindersley, Sask.

Cassan will be joined by assistant coaches Tim Fragle (head coach and general manager, Sherwood Park Crusaders, Alberta Junior Hockey League), Luke Pierce (head coach and general manager, Merritt Centennials, British Columbia Hockey League) and Jason Williamson (head coach and general manager, Vernon Vipers, British Columbia Hockey League).

“I am honoured and excited to be able to work with many of the top CJHL players from all over Western Canada,” said Cassan. “The World Junior A Challenge is a first-class event with premier players from all over the world. My experience at the 2013 event in Yarmouth, N.S., was a positive one, and I look forward to working with the staff and representing Canada West in Kindersley in December.”

Trent Cassan, 31, will make his second appearance with Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge, having won a bronze medal as an assistant coach in 2013. Cassan has been head coach and general manager in Yorkton for the past five seasons, leading the team to the SJHL championship and RBC Cup national championship last season. A Terriers alumnus (2002-04), Cassan was named SJHL Coach of the Year in 2012-13.

Tim Fragle, 34, will be an assistant coach with Canada West for the first time at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge.  Entering his fifth year as head coach and general manager in Sherwood Park, Fragle has 16 years of coaching and instructional experience.  He finished his CJHL playing career with the Crusaders, serving as captain in 2000-01.

Luke Pierce, 31, will make his first appearance with Canada West at the 2014 World Junior A Challenge. The head coach of Team West at the 2013 CJHL Prospects Games, Pierce has been the head coach and general manager of the Centennials for the past five seasons, guiding Merritt to the playoffs every year, and winning BCHL Interior Division Coach of the Year honours in 2012-13.

Jason Williamson, 33, will be an assistant coach with Canada West at the World Junior A Challenge for the first time. He has been the head coach and general manager in Vernon for the past four years, and was an assistant coach for three years prior to that. Williamson has made four trips to the RBC Cup, Canada’s National Junior A Championship, winning the national title with the Vipers in 2009 and 2010, and finishing as runner-up in 2011. He played three seasons in Vernon (1999-2002), making two trips to the BCHL final.

Canada West has appeared in six of the eight gold medal games at the World Junior A Challenge, winning gold in 2006 (Yorkton/Humboldt, Sask.), 2007 (Trail/Nelson, B.C.), and 2012 (Langley, B.C.). It also won silver in 2008 (Camrose, Alta.), 2009 (Summerside, P.E.I.), and 2012 (Yarmouth, N.S.), and won bronze in 2013 (Yarmouth, N.S.).  It finished fourth in 2010 (Penticton, B.C.).
that Marty Abrams, head coach and general manager of the Ontario Junior Hockey League's Wellington Dukes, will be the head coach of Canada East for the 2014 World Junior A Challenge, scheduled for Dec. 14-20 in Kindersley, Sask.

Abrams will be joined by assistant coaches Mark Grady (head coach, Smith Falls Bears, Central Canada Hockey League), Marc Lafleur (head coach, Kirkland Lake Gold Miners, Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League) and Troy Ryan (head coach and general manager, Campbellton Tigers, Maritime Hockey League).

“I am honoured to be named head coach of Canada East for this year’s World Junior A Challenge,” said Abrams. “I look forward to working with Mark, Marc and Troy in achieving our goal of winning Canada East’s first gold medal. I would also like to thank the CJHL for the opportunity to be a part of this world-class event.”

On the Canada East side, Marty Abrams, 49, will make his fourth appearance with Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge, having served as an assistant coach in 2006, and general manager in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Abrams won silver in 2006 and 2007, and bronze in 2008. He has been the head coach and general manager in Wellington for the past 13 seasons, guiding the Dukes to the OJHL championship and appearances at the RBC Cup, Canada’s National Junior A Championship, in 2003 and 2011. Abrams has more than 500 wins as a head coach and was named OJHL East Division Coach of the Year in 1999-2000 and 2001-02, and OJHL Central Division Coach of the Year in 2008-09.

Mark Grady, 51, will serve on the Canada East staff for a third time, having served as an assistant coach in 2007 and head coach in 2008, winning silver and bronze medals. Grady is entering his fourth season with Smith Falls, having guided the team to the CCHL final in 2014. Prior to coaching the Bears, Grady coached in the OHL with the Ottawa 67’s and in the CJHL with the Cumberland Grads and Nepean Raiders.

Marc Lafleur, 39, will make his second consecutive appearance with Canada East at the World Junior A Challenge, having served as an assistant coach in 2013. Named NOJHL Coach of the Year in his first season in Kirkland Lake in 2012-13, he led the Gold Miners to the NOJHL championship and a berth in the Dudley Hewitt Cup last year. Lafleur has worked as an assistant coach with the QMJHL's Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and in the NCAA with Bemidji State University. As a player, Lafleur spent two seasons with the USHL's Thunder Bay Flyers, reaching the 1995 Centennial Cup.

Troy Ryan, 42, will be an assistant coach with Canada East for the fifth time, serving in the role from 2006-09, and as general manager in 2010. Ryan is entering his second season as head coach in Campbellton, having spent the prior two seasons as head coach of St. Thomas University. He has more than a decade of coaching experience in the MHL and university hockey, winning MHL Coach of the Year and Hockey Nova Scotia Coach of the Year in 2007-08, and leading the Pictou County Crushers to an appearance at the RBC Cup in 2008.