FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Trail, BC (August 24, 2023) – The Trail Smoke Eaters are entering their 2023-24 season with an expanded Hockey Operations staff. The Smoke Eaters Ownership is investing heavily in Hockey Operations, through retaining and hiring highly-qualified and passionate professionals to the hockey staff. The Hockey Operations team has grown to three full-time coaches, full-time Director of Skill Development & Performance, Goaltending Consultant and a full-time Athletic Therapist & Equipment Manager.
Returning to their positions are General Manager and Head Coach, Tim Fragle and Assistant Coach, Dallas Calvin who has added Assistant General Manager to his job responsibilities. Tim has over 20 years coaching experience at the Junior and College hockey levels. He has won multiple Coach of the Year honours at various levels, along with winning a gold medal as Head Coach on the international stage with Team Canada. This year will mark Tim’s fourth season and Dallas’s third season with the Smoke Eaters organization.
The Smoke Eaters recently hired Shawn Campbell to the staff as the new Hockey Operations Assistant. In this role, Shawn will support management, coaching staff and players in various important roles within the Hockey Operations department. Shawn has been part on the organization for the past two years, working during the offseason, assisting with hockey operations and business duties. Shawn is from Castlegar and played professional hockey in Germany the past four seasons with ERSC Amberg.
Dustin Korlak is entering his sixth year with the organization and has taken on the newly created position of Director of Skill Development & Performance, positioning him as an asset to not only the Trail Smoke Eaters organization, but also the Greater Trail and Kootenay Boundary hockey communities. Dustin is also a certified Hockey Canada skills coach and he will also work as the team’s Skill Development Coach.
The team’s new Athletic Therapist & Equipment Manager is Emily Michalchuk. Emily started with team on August 15th. Emily is a Certified Athletic Therapist and has experience working with hockey players in the CSSHL, HSL, BCHL and KIJHL.
The teams’ scouting department has coverage throughout the globe. We are excited to have the following scouting staff in place for the upcoming season: Paul Antonenko, Scott Cassels, Scott Davidson, Bronson Dawson, Garrett McMullen, Dean Moisan, Hal Tearse, JJ Williams and Tanner Younghans.
The organization is excited about the Hockey Operations team and aims to deliver an elite player experience and development program.
