The St. Stephen Aces have named Canmore, Alberta native Emery Olauson the team’s new Head Coach and General Manager.
Olauson is a former professional player with several years of junior hockey coaching and recruiting experience.
“Emery has played and coached at a high level and he really understands the junior game,” said Aces President John Hyslop.
He said Olauson is committed to the team’s performance on and off the ice and understands the value of a team to the community and he has experience with player recruitment as well as coaching and managing.
“I’m excited for this opportunity with the Aces,” Olauson said. “My family was looking for an opportunity to move to the Maritimes and we look forward to being long-term members of the St. Stephen community.”
Olauson comes to the Aces after spending three seasons as Head Coach/General Manager with the Grand Forks Border Bruins of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League. He was the KIJHL Coach of the Year in 2016.
In addition to building and managing the team on the ice, Olauson was responsible for budgeting, organizing travel and managing hockey operations staff.
“Emery is a worker and I think he’s going to be a great fit with our hard-working Aces group,” Hyslop said.
Olauson’s Bruins were a playoff team in each his three seasons there – his first season being the team’s first in the playoffs in 19 years. Equally important as the team’s on-ice record is the development of players who graduated from the Bruins program. Ten of 11 graduating players were offered student athlete opportunities with US-based schools.
From 2013-2015, Olauson was Head Coach / Director of Hockey Operations with the Fayetteville Fire Antz of the Southern Professional Hockey League where he was responsible for the team on the ice and also took on community relations responsibilities to keep fans informed and ensure the team had a strong relationship with the community and corporate partners.
Prior to joining the Fire Antz, Olauson was an Assistant Coach with the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s Flin Flon Bombers.
As a player, Olauson suited up for more than 500 professional games in the Central Hockey League and the Southern Professional Hockey League. He currently sits fifth in all-time SPHL scoring. Olauson also played for Saint Thomas University (CIS) from 2002 – 2004 playing on the top scoring line in Canada in 2002 – 2003.
Submitted by Chuck Brown