The Ghostriders new Head Coach and General Manager is 38 year old Chad Scharff. Scharff has been in hockey his whole life and has done almost everything there is to do in the game. He played in the WHL, was a scout, an assistant coach and he even slugged it out as an Equipment Manager with the Giants and with the Edmonton Oilers. After that it was back to coaching where he finished up with the AAA U18 Airdrie CFR Bisons last season.
This will be the first time Scharff has had to run the whole show by himself, he will need to learn to ignore the outside forces and just do the job as he sees fit…It will be an eye opener for him.
Scharff says [Coming to Fernie is a great opportunity, the KIJHL is a higher league than where he was last year and the Riders are coming off a great season and there is a good nucleus of players. Scharff also looks forward interacting with the Community and the players].
Scharff was hired in August and signing season started June 1st so it’s a little late, but Rider fans should remember that some of the best player acquisitions Ty Valin made happened during the season.
Player News
Outgoing Coach Ty Valin was taking care of the team until they hired his replacement. He signed 17 year old Fernie local Sawyer Samycia who spent the last two years in Calgary at the Edge Hockey Academy, Colby Driebergen who was a forward from the VIJHL’s Westshore Wolves and AAA Fort Saskatchewan Rangers forward Dylan Puk.
In Other News
D-man Andrew Kennedy who was named as Fernie’s Top Defenseman last year moved on from junior and signed with the ACAC Concordia Thunder in Edmonton.
Kennedy “ I had the best two seasons playing with the Ghostriders. Not only did I make lifelong friendships with my teammates, the support from the fans was incredible. Thank you to Ty Valin, the Ghostriders association, the community and my billet family for welcoming me into your town for the past two years”.
“It is an exciting opportunity to make the jump to university hockey. I can’t wait to get the season and my education started.
And D-man Kaden Slobodian signed on with the Drury Panthers College hockey team. They play in the ACHA and have recruited several KIJHL players.
Slobodian “ Fernie has been amazing, I’ve enjoyed every minute of wearing the Ghostrider jersey for the last three years.”
“The support we as a team get from the community is second to none. My time in Fernie has pushed me to be the player I am today and allowed me to get to the next level”.
“Thank you to Ty Valin, Barb Anderson and the Ghostrider Board and especially my teammates for making going to the rink everyday special.
And Finally… Joey “The Legend” Chestnut set a new world record at a CFL game a few weeks ago by eating 343 mini doughnuts in 8 minutes, he defeated three Saskatchewan Roughriders who weighed in at 812 pounds, to Joey’s 220. The three giants only ate 98 between them.
