A record crowd of nearly 800 attendees enjoyed fun, sun, and, oh yeah, meetings at the 2006 AHCA Convention in Naples, Florida, from April 26-30. The Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club again served as the host site, as it has for 17 of the last 18 years, and as it will at least through 2008.

The festivities actually kicked off (faced off?) on Sunday, April 23, as a series of Division I conference meetings launched the week. Some members opted instead to travel 30 minutes up Interstate 75 to see the East Coast Hockey League playoffs between the host Florida Everblades and the Gwinnett Gladiators. A number of former collegians took the ice at Germain Arena, home of the annual college hockey Christmas tournament each December.

The winning foursome at this year’s AHCA Golf Tournament bask in their glory. From left, head coach Chris Potter of Wesleyan, assistant coach Peter Belisle of Connecticut, assistant coach Glenn Stewart of Connecticut, and assistant coach Bobby Ferraris of Mercyhurst.

The national meetings actually commenced on Wednesday, April 26, when the women’s coaches hosted the annual Joe Burke Award dinner. Olympian (and Boston College assistant coach) Katie King was the guest speaker and the Burke Award for contribution to girls’ and women’s hockey went posthumously to Minnesota’s Charlie Stryker. His widow Joan accepted on behalf of the family. Thursday was the day for addressing NCAA issues as Division I and Division III women met with representatives of NCAA rules and tournament committees in the morning; their male counterparts met with NCAA tournament committees in the afternoon before the first of three Exhibitor Socials commenced. The main ballroom was packed with 70 exhibitor booths and hundreds of AHCA members.

On Friday, Easton sponsored a nice breakfast before the Opening Business Meeting. That was followed by a brief presentation from Mark Tabrum of USA Hockey and then the annual Rules Session. Much of the rules discussion focused on the crease rule and scoring goals with one’s skate (directing/kicking).

Minnesota’s John Hill came up with a great idea which was implemented at this first meeting. Blank drill sheets were distributed on each chair at the Friday morning session. In the middle of the proceedings, John told everyone in the room to use the next ten minutes to write two drills on the sheet. The sheets were randomly labeled with topics. More than 200 drills have been collected and collated. They will be scanned and put up on the Members Section of this web site in a week or two.

After lunch, a series of “Breakout” sessions were well attended, as was Ryan Walter’s “7 Qualities to a Hungry Team” talk. The former NHL star also spoke at Sunday morning’s non-denominational chapel and was outstanding.

Friday’s program ended with one of the more popular events of the weekend, the Hockey Coaches Care Cocktail Party, sponsored this year by RBK/CCM and Pointstreak.com. Three checks were presented, each for $5,000, to representatives of individuals who are currently recovering from hard times. They represent the first grants given out by Hockey Coaches Care. Another $2,300 was raised at the event.

Note: one of the more hotly discussed topics was the aggressive tactics currently being used by Major Junior Hockey to target younger hockey players in the United States. The AHCA will explore appropriate ways to respond in a timely manner.

Saturday featured talks by former NHL’er and Canadian Women’s National Team assistant Tim Bothwell and ESPN broadcaster Gary Thorne. Thorne, by the way, did a spectacular job as emcee of the Coach of the Year Banquet later that evening. The afternoon was fairly free, except for the nearly 200 ACHA (nonvarsity) coaches who concentrated their meetings on Saturday and Sunday.

A few notables relax after this year’s AHCA Golf Tournament in Naples, FL. From left, former Wisconsin head coach Jeff Sauer, Rob Malnory, the current Director of Hockey Operations at Wisconsin, Bill Powers of Sherwood, and Minnesota assistant coach John Hill.

The aforementioned Coach of the Year Banquet was held on Saturday evening and was a huge success. Each speaker was sincere, witty, and brief. Special thanks to CSTV for providing a DVD that highlighted the 2005-06 season.

Sunday was a mix of X’s and O’s and golf. The morning sessions featured an array of drill presentations from seven schools, followed by a goaltending panel. At the Closing Business Meeting, a new slate of AHCA Officers and Governors was approved.

Wisconsin assistant Kevin Patrick will replace Vermont’s Kevin Sneddon as Vice-President of Convention Planning. Holy Cross head coach Paul Pearl replaces UConn’s Bruce Marshall as Vice- President of Membership. And the Board of Governors now includes Mark Dennehy of Merrimack and P.J. Flanagan of St. Lawrence, replacing Kevin Patrick and UConn’s Heather Linstad, respectively.

A word to the wise: make your plans for 2007 NOW. Mark the dates and reserve your room. Here are the dates:

2007 AHCA Convention
April 26-29, 2007
Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club in Naples, FL
(239) 261-2222