Bomber head coach and general manager Mike Reagan has been honoured as this year's top Canadian junior A coach.
Reagan was named as the CJHL's national coach of the year May 15, winning the Darcy Haugan/Mark Cross Memorial Award. The award is given each year by the CJHL and the National Hockey League Coaches' Association (NHLCA), named in honour of the two coaches who perished in the Humboldt Broncos bus crash six years ago.
Reagan, originally from Flin Flon and a former Bomber player, became the team's bench boss in 2007, following four years of NCAA hockey at Sacred Heart University. Since then, Reagan has made five appearances in the SJHL finals, won over 500 regular season games and become the longest-tenured head coach in the Bombers' near century-long history.
Reagan built and coached a Bomber roster that ended the regular season with a 44-9-2-1 record, tying the 2000-2001 Bombers for the team's modern-day wins record. The Bombers entered the playoffs ranked first in the SJHL and were ranked first in the CJHL national top 20 ranking for 16 weeks this season - both achievements the team has not done since the 2000-2001 season. The Bombers swept Kindersley in the first round and swept the Battlefords North Stars in the second round before losing to the eventual champion Melfort Mustangs in six games.
Reagan and an assistant coach, most likely Bomber assistant coach Cole McCaig, will be invited to the NHLCA's Global Coaches' Clinic in Las Vegas June 27-28, part of the festivities surrounding the NHL Draft - the pair of Bomber coaches will be the official honourary guests of the NHLCA. Reagan will officially receive the award at the event June 28.
Along with the award will come some significant rewards for the Bombers as a whole, according to the CJHL announcement. The Bombers will receive a $5,000 donation from the NHLCA and a second donation of $5,000 worth of Bauer hockey equipment.
