Howell takes over Calgary Dinos

CALGARY - University of Calgary Athletic Director Kevin Boyles announced Wednesday that Mark Howell has been appointed the new head coach of the Dinos men's hockey team.

Howell joins the Dinos with extensive experience as both a coach and general manager at the junior and midget levels, most recently with the Westside Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). He becomes the eighth head coach in program history.

"We're very pleased that Mark has agreed to join the University of Calgary," said Boyles. "This is a great opportunity to move our program forward in a new direction. He brings extensive experience, including both hockey expertise and demonstrated administrative ability, and I'm confident that he will be able to take our hockey program to a new level."

"I'm definitely excited about the opportunity," said Howell. "Our family gets to live in Calgary, a really family-oriented city that we can call home for a long time if we so choose, and the University of Calgary is one of the top schools in Canada. I feel really comfortable with the direction that Kevin (Boyles) is taking the athletic department, and that was part of it - I wanted to come to a program where we have the chance to succeed and to win."

Howell played three seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Medicine Hat Tigers before moving to Red Deer College, where he played for Mike Babcock. He spent one season with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, winning the 1992 University Cup title, before injuries forced him to retire.

The Red Deer native began his coaching career at the midget level while working as an officer with the Calgary Police Service, working with the Calgary Buffaloes. He spent two seasons as an assistant with the SAIT Trojans before eventually taking over as head coach of the Calgary Midget 'AAA' Flames for the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons. From there he moved to Brandon to become an assistant coach with the WHL's Wheat Kings for two seasons.

In 2003 Howell moved to Drayton Valley to become head coach and general manager of the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Thunder, where he posted a .625 winning percentage in three seasons. In 2006 he became the first head coach of the Westside Warriors, adding GM duties in 2008. The Warriors posted a franchise-best 40-17-3 (.635) record in the 2007-08 season, reaching the BCHL's Interior Conference final.

Howell also has experience at the provincial and national team levels, including a stint as head coach of Team Alberta for the 2007 Canada Winter Games, winning a bronze medal. He was an assistant/video coach with the Canadian men's national team at the 2000 IIHF World Championships, fulfilling the same role for Hockey Canada at three consecutive World Junior Championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

Mark, his wife Brandy, and their three young children will relocate to Calgary over the summer as he prepares to take over a Dinos squad with a solid nucleus of returning players for the 2009-10 season.

"The one thing I think we'll focus on first is establishing a structure that's built around structure and discipline so that not just the players but the community understands what Dinos Hockey is all about and what we represent," Howell said. "We have some real good players that have lots of experience, but there's some work to be done to bring in some new players that will establish a new level of play and depth to our team.

"You look at the top teams in the country, their high-end guys are real good, but then the guys behind them are very good as well. We have some high-end guys, now we need to find players that are just as good to provide us with that depth."

The Dinos open their 46th season of Canada West competition Friday, Oct. 10 when the University of Alberta Golden Bears pay a visit to Father David Bauer Arena.

University of Calgary Men's Hockey Coaches

Al Rollins (1964-68)
George Kingston (1968-74, 1975-76, 1978-83, 1984-88)
Gordon Cowan (1974-75, 1976-78)
Gordon Jones (1983-84)
Willie Desjardins (1988-94)
Tim Bothwell (1994-2001)
Scott Atkinson (2001-09)
Mark Howell (2009-)

Source:

Ben Matchett
Sports Information Director
University of Calgary Dinos