BCHL – Page 4 – CanucksBanter

By Andrew Phillip Chernoff | CanucksBanter

July 12, 2023

The Trail Smoke Eaters announced today the commitment of Michael Risteau to the roster for the 2023-24 season.

Risteau is a 2006-born forward from Lakeville, Minnesota, and played last season with Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in the USHS-MN.

“I chose Trail bacause because I knew it was the best decision for me to grow as a player and as a person. I also appreciated how professional the staff and owners operated during the recruitment process.”

– Michael Risteau

“We look forward to having Michael join our program. He is a talented young player that possesses quick speed and very good shot. We watched his game develop over the course of last year and we believe that he will continue to trend upwards as he moves into junior hockey.”

– Tim Fragle, Trail Smoke Eaters General Manager / Head Coach
Smoke Eaters Press Release

Highlights

He played in 27 games last season, contributing 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points for Benilde-St. Margaret’s School.
Most recently, Risteau played in the USA Hockey U17 National Camp as part of the Northern Plains district, where he scored 3 goals and 2 assists for 5 points in 6 tournament games.
Risteau comes to the Smoke Eaters with an NCAA Division I commitment from Western Michigan University.

Source: trailsmokeeaters.com

Trail Smoke Eaters Associate Coach and Director of Player Development, Dustin Korlak will be transitioning from his current role to take on a new role within the Smoke Eaters organization as the Director of Skill Development & Performance.

In this newly created position, Korlak will lead programming and continue to develop the Trail Smoke Eaters’ skill development programs and camp offerings, improving upon what is currently offered in both quality and quantity in order to better serve young hockey players in the City of Trail, the Kootenay region and beyond.

Korlak will also continue to be involved with the Trail Smoke Eaters junior hockey team as a skills development professional and help the team with individual skill development, along with providing support to the current coaching staff.
Smoke Eaters Press Release

Highlights

Korlak comes to this new position with impressive experience:
- Korlak served the Trail Smoke Eaters as an Associate Coach for the past five seasons.
- Before his time coaching in the BCHL, Korlak coached two seasons in the MJHL.
- In addition to coaching, he worked as a scout for ISS hockey and as a pro scout for the Coventry Blaze, a professional team in the UK.
- Korlak also has on-ice playing experience, having played four seasons of Junior Hockey in the MJHL and a career playing professionally overseas in Europe, including teams in Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.
- Korlak brings expertise in skill development to this position as a Certified Hockey Canada Skills Coach.
In this position, the community can expect to see Korlak offer the continued skill development programs already on rotation, as well as introduce an entirely new curriculum of skill development and performance camps as well.

Source: trailsmokeeaters.com