DAUPHIN, MB – A familiar face is set to rejoin the Dauphin Kings for the 2017-18 Manitoba Junior Hockey League season.
On Thursday the Kings announced that former goaltender Brett Willows has been named to the club’s coaching staff as the team’s Goaltending Coach.
Willows spent three seasons with the Kings from 2008 to 2011, including during the club’s run to the 2010 RBC Cup Championship Game. Willows took part in four contests during the ANAVET Cup in 2010, helping the Kings win the Manitoba/Saskatchewan Championship series over the La Ronge Ice Wolves. In his final season with Dauphin the Rivers, MB, product put up a 3.09 goals against average and a .913 save percentage.
Willows’ career also saw him make stops at the University of Toronto and a brief stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was an emergency backup in 2013.
“With Joe Caligiuri starting his Law career we knew a change was going to have to be made at some point. We feel by adding someone with Willy’s work ethic, attention to detail and character only makes our coaching staff stronger” says Kings Head Coach and General Manager Marc Berry. “He’s very familiar with our organization, the City of Dauphin and it’ll be great to have him back with our hockey club.”
“I’m super excited to be back part of the Kings organization. As a player they gave me a huge opportunity to not only be a part of a team that went to the RBC Cup and had some success but also as a 5’9 goalie to be a starting goalie in the league where other teams might not have taken a shot on me. I’m looking forward to offering some of my expertise that I’ve accumulated in the last 10-15 years to the goalies on the team” says Willows.
The former Kings netminder is currently in school in Winnipeg. “Right now I’m doing my Masters in Physiotherapy at the University of Manitoba. Prior to that I played five years at the University of Toronto and finished up my Kinesiology Bachelors Degree there. Currently I’m in summer mode cause I don’t have a practicum to do but that’ll be firing back up in August.”