Ex Vipers Head Coach Holick Shortlisted For Vancouver Giants Job:

It sounds like the Western Hockey League Vancouver
Giants and former Vernon Vipers Head Coach-GM Mark Holick are talking.

The Giants are currently looking for a new head coach, while Holick is currently looking for work after mutually parting ways with the Prince George Cougars April 12th 2016.

Holick spent the past three seasons in Prince George, received a two-year extension (July, 16 2014).

Holick was Head Coach-GM of the Vipers for one season (2006-07) before leaving for the WHL Kootenay Ice.  Holick left the Vipers for the Ice a week before the Vipers Training Camp during the 2007-08 season. Holick posted a record of (37 wins-19 losses-1 tie-3 overtime losses) guided the Vipers to the BCHL League finals where Vernon fell in six games to the Nanaimo Clippers. 

Mark Holick's Player-Coaching Profile:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=2331

This was in the Vancouver Province Newspaper:

Where do the Vancouver Giants go from here? Owner Ron Toigo hopes to have staff in place by end of month

May 11, 2016

Posted by: Steve Ewen

Former Prince George Cougars bench boss Mark Holick is one of several names who has been linked to the Vancouver Giants' vacant coaching spot.

The Vancouver Giants wanted to hire Marc Crawford. The Ottawa Senators beat them to it.

The Giants, who are looking for both a GM and a coach, coveted Mike Johnston for the combo job. He opted to return to his last WHL team, the Portland Winterhawks, instead in that dual role.

So where do the Giants go from here?

Vancouver owner Ron Toigo said Wednesday that he still plans to have someone in place by the end of the month. Ideally, he’d like to have two people for the two spots, but he reiterated that wasn’t a deal breaker for him.

Names that have been linked to the Giants over this process include former Canucks goalie and onetime Giants assistant Glen Hanlon, former Prince George Cougars coach Mark Holick, former Everett Silvertips general manager Doug Soetaert, former Winterhawks GM and coach Jamie Kompon and longtime Alberta Junior A Spruce Grove Saints coach Jason McKee.

Toigo says that he believes that the Giants had a legit shot at Johnston, who loved living in the area when he was an assistant to Crawford with the Canucks. Toigo realized how loyal Johnston was to Portland, where he coached before taking the Pittsburgh Penguins’ job two summers ago, and wonders if Kompon had stuck it out there whether Johnston might have signed on with the Giants instead.

Complicating matters for Vancouver is the fact that the Cougars and the Kelowna Rockets are also on the hunt for coaches.

Hanlon was a name that seemed to come up early on, but it’s not been nearly as prevalent on the rumour mill of late. Holick, in particular, seems to getting traction when it comes to scuttlebutt about possible coaches. McKee has been mentioned for previous openings with Vancouver, in large part because he was a favourite of outgoing GM Scott Bonner.

Bonner, the only GM the team has ever known, resigned on Dec. 8. He agreed to stay on until last week. He handled the Jan. 10 trade deadline, and he helped scout for last week’s WHL bantam draft, but didn’t stand in with the actual selection process. He believed it was a conflict of interest, since he’s now working for Edmonton-based agent Gerry Johannson, and Johannson represented players in the draft.

Vancouver is looking for a coach to replace Lorne Molleken, who was fired with two games to go in the regular season. Molleken was hired last summer, replacing Claude Noel, who had replaced Troy Ward 25 games into the 2014-15 season. Ward was hired two summers ago, succeeding Don Hay, who had been at the helm for 10 years.

Doing the math, guys like Thomas Foster, Alec Baer, Ty Ronning and Tyler Benson are coming up on their fifth head coach.

For those scoring at home, Ward was hired by the Giants on July 17, 2014, and the Molleken was hired on June 30, 2015. Getting people in place by the end of the month would be a step forward this time.

This is posted on The Coaches Site website:

May 24th 2016

The Prince George Cougars are looking for a head coach after parting company with Mark Holick, who had been there since Jan. 23, 2013.

Holick now is believed to be on a four-man shortlist compiled by the Vancouver Giants as they look to replace Lorne Molleken, who was fired with two games left in the regular season. It also is believed that Holick has at least two European options on his plate.

The Giants might name a head coach at some point this week.