Photo Credit: Cindy Eccles, Earth- Life Studios.
what I am,” Hlavac said, noting that some of his
coaches were mentors and role models.
Crombie, who hails from Ontario, brings decades
of hockey experience to the program both as a
coach and a player. Drafted by the Boston Bruins
in 1992 he played in six
minor leagues before
coaching the Southern
Professional Hockey
League’s Pee Dee
Cyclones in the 2006-
07 season.
“I try to lighten the mood a little bit and make sure
we’re having fun,” said Crombie, who in one minor
league season racked up more than 200 penalty
minutes and in another tallied 100 points. “Play
the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
“Those guys are incredible,” Karas said of his
fellow coaches, adding that Hlavac “is so smooth
when he skates.”
Crombie also spoke highly of Hlavac, adding
that “it’s just great when you get a guy with that
experience.”
West Manatee
Turnaround
Fueled by New
Coaching Trio
Second-year team vastly improved
in the Lightning High School Hockey
League
By Steve Lee
West Manatee debuted last season in the Lightning High School
Hockey League and not unlike many first-year teams at any level
-barring the National Hockey League’s 2018-18 expansion Las Vegas
Knights, who made it to the Stanley Cup last season - the young players
struggled at best. A turnaround was imminent and thanks, in part, to the
arrival of a new coaching trio the process is clearly under way.
“I analyze every one of my players and I try to
figure what button to push to motivate them and
get them ready for the next step,” Karas said.
“I was pleasantly surprised at the talent level
down here in Florida and there’s some very good
coaching down here.”
The rest of that coaching triumvirate includes
associate coach Jan
Hlavac and assistant
coach Chris Crombie,
two former professional
hockey players.
Hlavac, from the Czech
Republic, was drafted
28th overall by the New York Islanders in 1995
and adds more than 20 years of professional
playing experience along with his USA Hockey
Level 4 coaching certification. He played in 436
NHL games with the Rangers, Flyers, Canucks,
Hurricanes, Predators, as well as the Tampa Bay
Lightning where he appeared in 62 games during
the 2007-08 season.
“I was lucky I had good coaches who made me
Bill Karas, is the USA Hockey Level 4 certified
Minnesota native, and
brings nearly 50 years
of coaching experience
to the West Manatee
bench.
In addition, he has
served as a mentor and held many board positions
including president and vice president of youth
organizations.
Since 2016, he has been the Minnesota lead scout
for two junior teams, the Phoenix Knights of the
Western States Hockey League and the Willmar
Warhawks of the North American 3Hockey
League.
“It’s a good fit,” said head coach Bill Karas,
who also coaches the 14U Tampa Bay Crunch at
Florida Hospital Center Ice in Wesley Chapel. “We
help each other out. It’s a fun environment.”
Knowing he was relocating to Florida last winter,
Karas contacted the Lightning. Not long after he
began coaching the Crunch at the Wesley Chapel
rink he took over the high school team.
West Manatee has gone from a last-place team to the .500 level
(as of early November). That means the program is on the right track!
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