By Craig Beauchemin

Kevin Hasselberg nominated for CJHL Coach of the Year

May 20, 2016 | 5:00 PM

The accolades for the Battlefords North Stars continue to roll in after an incredibly successful 2015-16 season; head coach Kevin Hasselberg is one of the six finalists for the Canadian Junior Hockey League’s Coach of the Year award.

The award recognizes the most outstanding coach in the CJHL across the entire country and features 126 teams. The accolade is awarded based on the coach’s team and individual performance on the season.

“I started getting text messages from people and sort of thought ‘what are you guys talking about?’” Hasselberg said. “It was kind of surreal. You just don’t really know until you see the names that are there, these are very successful and long-serving coaches at the CJHL level. It’s an honour and pretty humbling.”

Hasselberg’s North Stars finished with a franchise record .776 winning percentage by compiling a record of 43-11-2-2. The team’s offense skyrocketed this year compared to previous years as the team finished with three of the top 10 scorers in the league. A season seemingly destined for greatness came to a disappointing end as the North Stars were eliminated by the Flin Flon Bombers in double overtime of game five of the semi finals.

“I think what I’ll remember most about this year was just what a great group of guys we had. If there were any doubts about how much they cared, that was all answered by the looks on their faces when we lost in overtime. It’s heartbreaking to see the disappointment in those players, they all worked so hard to achieve something we believed we could achieve.”

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Hasselberg was quick to pass off the praise to others as he listed multiple people who were instrumental in the team’s success this past year, beginning with his family and the rest of his coaching staff.

Through his five seasons with the North Stars, Hasselberg has a career record of 146-64-16, and has helped numerous players advance to the next stage of their hockey careers by helping them secure scholarships to colleges and universities in both Canada and the United States.

“I haven’t even thought about (winning the award),” Hasselberg said with a laugh. “Just the fact that it’s at the stage that it’s at is pretty rewarding. Obviously it would be a pretty big honour and something the organization and my family would be very proud of.”

The other finalists for the CJHL Coach of the Year include Rich Swan from the AJHL’s Bonnyville Pontiacs, Blake Spiller from the MJHL’s Portage Terriers, Fred Harbinson of the BCHL’s Penticton Vees, Dustin Treylen of the CCHL’s Brockville Braves and Pierre Petroni of the QJHL’s College Francais de Longueui.

The winner of the award will be announced the week of May 24.

Email: cjnbsports@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @craig_beauch