Dave Irwin
Being involved in many aspects of hockey for the better part of 45 years, my journey began in Simcoe, Ontario where I played Rep hockey from Novice to Midget (U9-U18), 3 years of Junior ‘C’ and a further 4 years of Senior ‘A’.
My recent coaching background includes Head Coach of the Burlington Eagles U16A (2024/25) and U15A Gold teams along with being the Assistant Coach for U14A. Prior to this I was an Assistant Coach with the Burlington Barracudas GHC for 4 years at the U11AA and U9A age groups.
Like many in the hockey world, hockey has been a lifelong passion. I enjoy being on the ice and bench with the players, helping them develop and improve, motivating them to give their best effort and assisting the players’ in addressing adversity. The end goal is to achieve team success in a very competitive division.
For the upcoming season, I look to continue the players’ development following the Hockey Canada program for this age group while absorbing and imparting as much as I can from a very experienced Oakville Rangers coaching group and from our assistant coaches. For players in their final minor hockey season, I hope to deliver a competitive fun program that keeps them playing well past minor hockey. For those in their second to last year, I aim to provide development and opportunities for them to continue playing in their final year and make the team/level to which they aspire the following year.
Philosophy
I want the players to develop, compete, be accountable, support and grow their confidence, develop friendships, be great teammates and have fun so that they finish their minor hockey career or continue into next season, but loving the game for life. We will be a hard-working team that is relentless on pucks and determined not to lose puck battles. We will work on individual skills development and systems, to build on the systems that players have learned in the past few seasons. This includes power play and penalty kill where ALL players will develop on all special teams. In saying this, I will also utilize an interactive approach with the players where they add their experience to create practice plans and support in-game scenarios.
Player Selection & Roster
I am looking for players that love the game, are committed, competitive and want to have a successful and winning season. Players that can play most skater positions are preferred. Practices will be high paced, and players are expected to be coachable, and be great teammates.
To manage injuries, suspensions and other priorities that may arise (the primary one being academic commitments). AP players (Alternate Players) will be used to backfill at practices and play games when/if we are short.
Time Commitment
Players are expected to manage their time and prioritize academics and Rangers hockey during the season and attend all events (subject to injury, illness, etc). I expect to have 2 practices along with 1 home and 1 away game per week. Players need to ensure their academic commitments do not suffer because of hockey.
Schedules are not set at this time of year, and the schedule I am proposing is still tentative. Players are encouraged and supported in pursuing high school sports teams and part time jobs, but this should have limited effect on their Rangers commitments and their academics.
Season Timeline
As a team, we will come together after Labour Day (so, spring and summer are off - players will be encouraged to continue their own development and work on their overall fitness). Players are expected to respect the in-season direction from Tri-County MHL and the OMHA on availability. Christmas Break will be off for our families, and March Break (subject to playoffs), but playoff games can occur up to and including the Friday before the break as well as on the second weekend of the break.
Tournaments and Travel
I expect to enter 3-4 tournaments as follows:
- Early Bird Tournament: within the GTA (Richmond Hill/Halton Hills, etc)
- Fort Lauderdale, FL: 8th Veterans Day on the Beach (registered) - November 6th to 8th
- Ottawa, ON: December date TBD (tentative)
- Oakville Winter Classic: January 14th to 17th