Derek Chichak will be putting his immaculate coaching record at the Richmond Bantam Midget International Hockey Tournament on the line when the 35th edition gets underway Boxing Day.
The lifetime Lulu Island resident is in his first season coaching Richmond Minor Blues Midget A1 team, however, this tournament needs no introduction to him.
It was back in 2008 when Chichak guided cross-town rival Seafair Islanders to the Midget Tier One title, defeating the host Blues, in what was arguably the most memorable championship game in the event’s rich history. It was the Islanders’ first-ever appearance in the tournament.
For good measure, Chichak’s squad repeated as champions in 2009.
The veteran coach would eventually guide Seafair’s juvenile team where the success continued until a lack of players put the program in hiatus. He took on the same age level with South Delta Minor, then had a stint behind the bench with the Pacific Junior Hockey League’s Delta Ice Hawks.
When he looked at his opportunities back “home” again at the midget rep level, Chichak was pursued by Richmond Minor.
Impressed with what he heard, he agreed to take on the job with the A1 Blues — bringing in couple of his former players — his son Sam Chichak and Kamesh Goundar — to serve as assistants.
It was a decision that didn’t sit well with everyone. However, Chichak is also an advocate of seeing a merger between the associations realized one day — especially with the growing emergence of academy hockey and the impact it is having on the Bantam and Midget levels across the country.
For now, his focus is on the Blues being a serious threat on home ice and what very well could be another chapter in the Richmond Minor/Seafair rivalry.
Chichak has Richmond Minor off to a solid starting in Pacific Coast Amateur tier one play with a 7-3-2 record. Ironically, the Steve Robinson coached Islanders have an identical mark. The teams met earlier this month with the Blues rallying for a 3-2 win.
“With a new coach and a new system it took a bit of time but we have be going well of late,” said Chichak. “It starts at the back end and that has been the key to all my teams over the years. We are getting great goaltending (from third-year Jordan Allen) and strong defensive play in front of him.
“There are not a lot of guys who can regularly put pucks in the net but it’s the same for most teams in the league. We have to manufacture our goals and our power play is very important. We spend a lot of time working on it.”
Potentially playing seven games over six days, conditioning plays a big part in tournament success.
“It’s tough getting these guys in the condition you want with so much else going on in their lives,” added Chichak. “We practice three days a week which is better than most teams so we try to get them in the best shape we can.”
The Blues will open up play Saturday against Cloverdale.
The tournament will feature 60 teams competing in five divisions — Major Midget, Midget Tier One, Midget Tier Two, Bantam Tier One and Bantam Tier Two. The finals take place on Dec. 31.
