The United States Premier Hockey League Charleston Colonials have named former Vernon Vipers forward Hunter Bishop new Head Coach.
Bishop played last year with the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) Stena Line Belfast Giants before announcing his retirement in early February. The Giants are an ice hockey team from Belfast, Northern Ireland that compete in the Elite Ice Hockey League. In 34 games last year with the Giants, Bishop collected (4-goals-15-assists-19-points).
Before signing with the Giants, Bishop spent the previous three seasons with the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL) HC Tiroler Wasserkraft Innsbruck Sharks. After playing two seasons at Ohio State University Bishop played four seasons in the American Hockey League & ECHL with six different teams (Hamilton, Wheeling, South Carolina, Lake Erie, Rochester & Manchester) before heading overseas. The Montreal Canadiens signed Bishop as a free agent March 18th 2010 to a two year contract. Bishop attended Montreal's training camp three straight season's but never played a game with the Habs.
Bishop played parts of three seasons in Vernon (2005-2008). Bishop left the Vipers after two seasons and played in just four games at the University of North Dakota during the 2006-07 season before returning to Vernon during the Christmas break playing the remainder of the 2006-07 season. Bishop played his final season with the 2007-08 Vipers. In 140 regular season games with the Vipers Bishop collected (93-goals-84-assists-177-points). Bishop is ranked 10th on Vernon Junior hockey's all-time points list with 177 points & tied with Wayne Dye on Vernon Junior hockey's all-time goals list, with 93 goals.
Hunter Bishop's Player Profile:
This was posted on the Colonials website:
Charleston Colonials, set to debut in 2019-20, name Hunter Bishop as head coach of USPHL Premier team
By Colonial Staff, 01/27/19
The 2019-2020 season will be the inaugural season for the Charleston Colonials (Elite and Premier) of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL).
The Charleston Colonials will play out of the Carolina Ice Palace, with brand new state of the art locker rooms and offices. A vision of growing junior hockey in the fast-growing community of hockey in the South and the demand to give players the opportunity to play junior hockey in a great market, with the high demand for junior hockey and development in the Charleston area makes this the perfect fit for the teams.
The USPHL Southeast Division has ranked in the top for the past several seasons, with over 75 NCAA commitments just last season. The division is proven to be outstanding for player advancement.
After comprehensive search throughout professional, collegiate and junior hockey in an effort to identify our Head Coach, the Ownership Group recognized that Hunter Bishop has all the qualities that were important to leading our teams to success.
With the same core values, hockey mindset, and professionalism we strive for, along with a strong local support and recognition in the Charleston area it was clear that he was the right fit for our organization.
“Having been involved with many programs, I understand that coaching is a huge part of that program being successful. After reading Hunter’s resume and getting to know him, I knew he was the perfect fit to be at the helm of the new Colonials Junior program,” said Jocelyn Langlois, Director of Hockey Operations and one of the owners of the Colonials. “From his experience as a player (having played for many different great coaches), to his leadership throughout his career, to his success running camps/clinics (in the Charleston area), he was without a doubt the perfect candidate of being head coach of our club. I’m truly excited to have him on board and feel fortunate to have him as part of the Charleston Colonials program.”
Bishop, an Alaska native, has played at Ohio State University NCAA D-I, as well as in the ECHL, AHL, EBEL and EIHL. He is currently playing for the Belfast Giants in the EIHL and when the season concludes, he will be relocating in the spring back to Charleston with his wife.
In addition Josh Hoff has been named assistant coach for Premier and Elite. Josh, a Charleston, S.C., native, who has been coaching since 2009 will be a great edition to the team.
“The assistant coaching role is extremely important to the success of a junior program. After interviewing Josh, it was evident that he will be able to promote the team values and disciplines that we strive to achieve,” said Langlois. “Being involved as a head and assistant coach the past few seasons, he brings a lot of experience and knowledge to the program. Also, his dedication to the sport and attention to details is perfect for the development and growth of the players. And finally, having a bachelor degree in physical education, health and human performance will help players understand the importance of being prepared both physically and mentally.”
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