Storm Name Former Viper Bench Boss Vandekamp New Head Coach/GM:

The Alberta Junior Hockey League Grande Prairie Storm have named former Vernon Vipers Head Coach/GM Mike Vandekamp new Head Coach/GM.

Vandekamp spent the past two seasons with the Cowichan Capitals after spending the previous seven years with the Nanaimo Clippers.

Vandekamp was Head Coach/GM of the Vernon Vipers from 2001-2005 before leaving for the Western Hockey League's Prince George Cougars.

Mike Vandekamp's coaching profile:

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=49573

This was posted on the Storm website:

Mike Vandekamp Returns to Lead Storm

April 6th, 2020

GRANDE PRAIRIE, AB

April 6th, 2020

The Grande Prairie Storm are pleased to announce that Mike Vandekamp will be returning to the organization as General Manager and Head Coach. The 3 year term takes effect immediately.

Storm President Murray Toews says, "Mike Vandekamp knows how to create winners!  He has a proven track record of bringing the most out of his players.  Mike has won championships and has moved hundreds of players onto NCAA scholarships.  Our fans, stakeholders and players need this change and we are happy to welcome Mike back home to the Grande Prairie Storm."

A veteran junior hockey bench boss, Vandekamp enters his 26th season of coaching (WHL, AJHL, BCHL).  He returns to the AJHL after spending the last 9 seasons in the BCHL with the Nanaimo Clippers and most recently the Cowichan Valley Capitals.

In his 4 seasons with the Storm (2007-2011) Vandekamp amassed a regular season record of 154-72-19.  In the playoffs, Vandekamp's Grande Prairie Storm teams posted a 27-18 record and won the AJHL Championship in 2009.

"Helping bring an AJHL Championship to the Storm fans and organization is one of the highlights of my coaching career", says Vandekamp.  "We had a talented group that was committed and proud to represent the Storm and the community of Grande Prairie.  We found success in that formula.  I look forward to being a part of revitalizing that culture of confidence.  I'm excited to get back up north and getting to work!"

Vandekamp is available for media requests at mikevandekamp72@gmail.com.

Chris Millsap is available for media requests at millsap@libertylaw.ca and/or 780.933.8786.

The Grande Prairie Storm Hockey Club exists to develop a quality junior hockey team made up of dedicated and talented hockey players who want to work together with the community, volunteers and administration. We constantly look for ways to improve our organization and are proud to be an integral part of the Grande Prairie region. We encourage educational advancement and strive to achieve the highest possible results in pursuit of a National Championship.

This was in the Daily Herald Tribune newspaper:

Grande Prairie Storm hire Mike Vandekamp as new head coach and general manager

Gordon Anderson

Published on: April 6, 2020

In order to move forward into the future, the Grande Prairie Storm took a step back into the past.

Late last week, the local Jr. A franchise hired Mike Vandekamp as the new Head Coach and General Manager, effective immediately.

Vandekamp last coached the Storm during the 2010-11 season, leaving for the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League the following year.

Vandekamp was behind the bench when the Storm last won the Alberta Junior Hockey League championship in 2009. In his four total seasons with the Storm, Vandekamp compiled a regular-season record of 154-72-19.

The decision to move closer to home was both personal and professional. The Fort St. John resident—and current Nanaimo resident—has family ties in the area and was searching for another hockey-related challenge.

“I’ve said it to may people, that in my (previous) time (in Grande Prairie) was some of the best working relationships I’ve had,” Vandekamp said. “The group was supportive and interested in having success and that allowed me to do my job. It was a real positive (experience) for me.”

Patience a must

After a couple of seasons where the Storm finished near the .500 mark, 30 wins in the 2018-19 season and 28 wins the year previous, the team slipped to 18 wins in the recently completed season.

Storm president Murray Toews has gone on record multiple times, mentioning he was tired of losing and felt the fans deserved better. The large walk-up crowd for game six of the first-round series against the Spruce Grove Saints—where the line was out the door at Revolution Place—proves the city will support a competitive hockey club.

But Vandekamp noted immediate success isn’t realistic with the current version of the club.

“I’m not going to profess to be some sort of miracle worker,” Vandekamp said. “I’ve been around a long time and I’ve joined teams in (different) situations over my career. I’ve gone into situations were teams were already very strong and I’ve gone into situations where the team was really struggling. My most recent experience (with the Cowichan Valley Capitals) was like that. (The Capitals were) the last place team in the league the season before I went there. I guess I’ve seen it all and I’m hoping my experience can help get things back a little bit.”

Vandekamp took the head coach and general manager roles with the Capitals for the 2018-19 season.

This year, the Capitals finished second in Island Division with 35 wins and were getting set for a second-round playoff series with the Clippers before the novel coronavirus shut the season down.

“It’s going to be a process, it’s not (going to) happen overnight,” Vandekamp added “The one thing I do know is that I will work hard at it and be committed to it, slowly trying to get the team going in a more consistent, positive direction.”

Familiar faces?

Vandekamp is certainly open to the idea of former Storm coaches Ryan Aasman and Taylor Makin applying for positions on his staff.

“I would say, the best way to answer that, is that I don’t know if we’ve gotten that far, yet, but I do know I’ve been given the opportunity to, basically, run the hockey operations side of the club and part of that will be staffing, as well as players,” Vandekamp said.

“I am going to be open-minded to giving everybody an opportunity. I’m just settling in, figuring out what I’m doing myself. I think you will see a staff take shape pretty quickly.”

A man of two minds

Going back exactly a decade now, Mike Vandekamp has been the loudest and clearest voice on all things hockey, as they relate to his past teams.

The new head coach and general manager of the Grande Prairie Storm has always been in a position of strength, holding down dual roles for the three clubs he’s been a part of since the 2010-11 season. Those teams were: the Nanaimo Clippers and the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the British Columbia Hockey League and the Storm in the ‘10-11 season.

“I’ve almost always been in a dual role,” Vandekamp said. “I’m familiar with it and comfortable with it. I like both sides. I like coaching a lot, still, I really do. I’ve been coach for a long, long time and it’s part of my fabric, of who I am.”

Many coaches have tried to assume both roles and a lot of have failed. The job can be a difficult time-management scenario for those not prepared. A coach also needs possess the stomach to pat a player on the back and have him on the bus or in a car, as part of a trade, the following day.

Vandekamp seems to enjoy the entirety, challenges and variety in work life that a difficult role can dish out.

“You’re making the decisions, you’re coaching the players and I think, sometimes, there are some advantages to it,”

Vandekamp said. “But there’s also a lot of responsibility. You don’t have any excuses. You are the guy that’s out there assigning players and choosing who is going to be on the club and now you have to coach them, too. It’s a lot of work. I am not afraid of that work. I enjoy the challenge and it’s what I’m familiar with. It’s where I like to be.”

This was in the Daily Herald Tribune newspaper:

Grande Prairie Storm president Murray Toews discusses hiring of Mike Vandekamp as coach and general manager

Gordon Anderson

Published on: April 7, 2020

When the Grande Prairie Storm hired Mike Vandekamp, a common denominator was a certain degree of change.

On Friday, the local Jr. A franchise gave the former Fort St. John resident a three-year deal to be the next head coach and general manager, effective on Monday.

“We had to go back to where we thought we could get the biggest bang for the buck,” Storm President Murray Toews said. “We needed to have the (general manager living) in town, for sponsorship purposes. The town (needs) to see a wholesale change, and the players brought in (by the previous regime) are going to (see) change. I think change is the biggest thing and the fact Vandekamp is the general manager and head coach is the biggest kicker for me.”

Toews noted there were multiple coaching options on the table for the board of directors, including leaving the coaching position as is with Ryan Aasman and assistant Taylor Makin.

But Toews thought a coach with a larger body of work is more of a known commodity in these less certain times for the franchise.

“(Vandekamp) is less risk for the players, less risk for the program and less risk for the community,” Toews said. “I don’t think we can afford not to (make the change). Will we win next year? Hope so, but if we don’t, hopefully, we can make some strides closer to that. I think the odds are better under Vandekamp.”

It’s what impresses

Toews isn’t banking on an immediate version of the Miracle on Ice but the president expects the attitude of the rostered players to change in short order.

“Are we going to win a championship next year? No. But I’m pretty sure (Vandekamp) is going to come in and start talking about a championship from day one,” Toews said. “Not that the coaches didn’t do it prior to him, but Vandekamp (with his record and resume) wins wherever he goes.”

“We need to make sure that we do not see ourselves as a second fiddle to anyone else,” Vandekamp added. “We want to have a winners mentality and we want to take care of the things we can control. How hard are we working? Are we preparing ourselves? Are we showing up on Friday night with confidence, believing we are capable of winning? That type of attitude is something that doesn’t happen overnight, but, as a coach, if you demand that and you’re really consistent with that, hopefully, over time, you see that coming out of your group.”

In seven seasons with the Nanaimo Clippers of the British Columbia Hockey League, Vandekamp had five winning seasons, picking up 215 wins. With the Cowichan Valley Capitals he had one winning and one losing season, earning 52 victories.

“The players that play for Vandekamp play with passion and are heavier—not necessarily bigger in stature—but they are going to play heavier with the puck and you will see a lot more emotion, I think, out of the players,” Toews said, diverting back to change and the realm of the unknown. “The fans deserve better. There were a lot of unhappy people—from fans and season-ticket holders—and it’s up to us to (make the right change) and I think they will be, hopefully, happy and, hopefully, the results will follow (Vandekamp here) for next season.”

Not his decision alone

A small window to hire Vandekamp opened up after the BCHL cancelled the remainder of its season on March 12, due to the novel coronavirus. Vandekamp was mulling over a change in his professional and personal life, with the Storm expediting the process, the entire experience lasting about three weeks.

“It wasn’t (solely) my decision, it was a board decision,” Toews said, while noting another board member brought Vandekamp’s name to the table. “You hear different names pop up through the season (but) people don’t just drop names to me, there are (another) 12 board members that know hockey people too.”

Keep it all in-house

The “keep it local” angle was a factor when the Grande Prairie Storm hired Mike Vandekamp late last week.

Storm President Murray Toews didn’t want another general manager living in relative isolation to the community when it came to the satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, of fans and sponsors alike.

Toews feels the general manager needs to hear it and wear it, either good or bad, around town.

“That was a big thing for me, the big thing that got my vote,” Toews said. “I just think that for that one person to be in Grande Prairie, to see what happens, (as) he feels the same pain you and I feel or the regular fans feel.”

Former General Manager Mark Bomersback—who resigned his position on Friday—lived in Calgary so he wasn’t around on a daily basis to evaluate the club with his own eyes.

When Matt Keillor was the head coach earlier this past season, the two leading figures at the head of the hockey-ops department would spend large amounts of time on the phone after a game, talking about the game itself, the progress of the players or the roster in general.

And while Toews seemed publicly OK with Bomersback commuting up from Calgary every now and then, the president felt having one person occupying both jobs was the best avenue to pursue at this time.

“(The general manager) is with the players, not only hearing from a coach who is eight hours away but he’s with the players day in and day out,” Toews said. “The biggest thing for me, (is) the general manager, also being the head coach and living in Grande Prairie.”