![]() |
John Olver | |
---|---|
Born | North Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada | August 3, 1958
Nationality | Canadian |
Known for | Two-time champion minor league ice hockey coach |
John Olver (born August 3, 1958) is a Canadian ice hockey player and coach known for his league championship teams in the West Coast Hockey League and ECHL.
Olver's eldest son Darin played at Northern Michigan University while he coached there. Darin now plays for the ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL. Darin was drafted 36th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. His younger son, Mark Olver, also played hockey at Northern Michigan and most recently plays for Eisbären Berlin in Germany. His son Mark was also drafted 144th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche and played 74 NHL games in total, amassing 22 points.
A right wing, from 1975 to 1977 Olver was a member of the junior league Kelowna Buckaroos. He played college hockey at the University of Michigan for two seasons, quitting the team in November 1979 for lack of playing time. [1] Although he was drafted in the 8th round of the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft by the Colorado Rockies, he never played at the professional level. [2]
Olver began his coaching career in 1981 as an assistant with the New Westminster Royals. He took his first head coaching job in 1984 with the junior league Langley Eagles (now Westside Warriors).
Olver's first professional head coaching job came in 1995 with the West Coast Hockey League Fresno Falcons. In 1997, Olver took the head coaching position with the expansion WCHL Tacoma Sabercats. Olver led the Sabercats to the league finals in both his seasons with the team, winning the WCHL championship in 1998-99.
After a year away from coaching, in 2000 Olver became head coach of his third WCHL team, the Idaho Steelheads. Olver remained with the Steelheads for five seasons, leading them to the WCHL finals in 2000-01 and 2001-02. Olver remained with the team when it moved from the WCHL to the ECHL in 2003. He coached Idaho to the ECHL Kelly Cup championship in 2004.
Since leaving the Steelheads in 2005, Olver has served as an assistant coach at Northern Michigan University, a head coach and general manager with the Bakersfield Condors' organization in the ECHL, and the head coach and general manager of the Idaho Jr. Steelheads/IceCats in the Western States Hockey League.
The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Washington.
The Idaho Steelheads are an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Boise, Idaho, and a member of the ECHL. The Steelheads play in the Mountain Division of the ECHL's Western Conference since the 2016–17 season. In 1996, the Steelheads were announced as a 1997–98 expansion team by Diamond Sports Management, headed by Cord Pereira, as a member of the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL). The Steelheads and the rest of the WCHL joined the ECHL in 2003. As of the 2022-23 season, the Steelheads are the westernmost ECHL team. During the 2003–04 season and since the 2005–06 season the Steelheads have been an affiliate of the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars. The Austin-based Texas Stars have been the Dallas Stars AHL affiliate since the 2009–10 season. Home games are played at the 5,002-seat Idaho Central Arena in downtown Boise.
The Alaska Aces, known as the Anchorage Aces until 2003, was a professional ice hockey team in Anchorage, Alaska. Home games were played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. The Aces won three Kelly Cup championships, with their last championship following the 2013–14 ECHL season.
Bradley Ralph is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey left winger and is the head coach of the Florida Everblades of the ECHL. He played in one National Hockey League game for the Phoenix Coyotes during the 2000–01 NHL season.
Christopher Jon Marinucci is an American former professional ice hockey player who played briefly in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders. He also played with the Denver Grizzlies, Utah Grizzlies, Phoenix Roadrunners, Chicago Wolves, Kokudo Tokyo, Eisbären Berlin, Idaho Steelheads, IF Björklöven and Storhamar Dragons.
David Richard Langevin is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 216 games for the Edmonton Oilers in the World Hockey Association (WHA) as well as 513 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Islanders, Minnesota North Stars and Los Angeles Kings between 1977 and 1987. He is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame.
Robert Michael Dirk is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Dirk played in the National Hockey League between 1987 and 1996.
Derek Laxdal is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former professional right winger. In 2022, Laxdal was named the head coach of the Oshawa Generals.
Olivier Bellavance-Roy is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for Fehérvár AV19 of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL).
The Tacoma Sabercats were an American professional minor league ice hockey team based in Tacoma, Washington. The team began play in the West Coast Hockey League as of the 1997–98 season.
Darin Olver is a Canadian-born German professional ice hockey left winger. He is currently playing for Schwenninger Wild Wings of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
Aaron G. MacKenzie is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He played briefly in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Avalanche, where he currently resides.
Gordon Baldwin is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who last played for the Sheffield Steelers of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).
The Idaho Jr. Steelheads, also called the Idaho IceCats, were a junior ice hockey team based in McCall, Idaho. The team played in the Western States Hockey League (WSHL) and home games were held at Manchester Ice & Event Centre in McCall. The team previously played some home games at Idaho Ice World and CenturyLink Arena in Boise, the latter being the home of the ECHL Idaho Steelheads. The team had been one of the most successful in the WSHL, winning five Thorne Cup championships over six seasons and appeared in seven straight between 2010 and 2017.
Mark Olver is a Canadian-German professional ice hockey centre currently playing under contract to Kölner Haie of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). He previously played in the National Hockey League with the Colorado Avalanche. Mark is the younger brother of Darin Olver, who was his teammate in his tenure with Eisbären Berlin.
The 1997-98 West Coast Hockey League season was the third season of the West Coast Hockey League, a North American minor professional league. Nine teams participated in the regular season, and the San Diego Gulls were the league champions. In addition to league play, WCHL teams played regular season games against the Russian Superleague team CKA-Amur.
Henrik Samuelsson is an American professional ice hockey player of Swedish ancestry. He is currently playing for HK Levice in the Slovak 1. Liga. Samuelsson was most recently with the Manchester Storm of the UK EIHL. Previously, he played with the Worcester Railers of the ECHL, Modo Hockey in the Swedish Hockey League and the Arizona Coyotes in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Conner Bleackley is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently playing under contract with the Maine Mariners in the ECHL. Bleackley was originally selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, but was not signed to an entry-level contract, forcing him to re-enter the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, whereupon he was selected by the St. Louis Blues in the fifth round, 144th overall.
Colton Robert Point is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Point was drafted in the fifth-round, 128th overall, by the Dallas Stars in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to turning professional, he attended Colgate University, where he was named to the AHCA East Second-Team All-American, NCAA (ECAC) Second All-Star Team, and was a Hobey Baker Award finalist.
Scott Swanson is an American ice hockey coach and former defenseman who was an All-American for Colorado College.