Toronto Titans "AAA" Hockey Club Off-Ice Talent Pool Gets Even Deeper!
"Toronto Titans Hockey Club Appoints Pat Flatley as Special Adviser of Hockey Operations Effective Immediately"
December 15, 2011, TORONTO, ON. – Having already implemented a significant series of changes in the day-to-management earlier this year, the Toronto Titans Hockey Club has added yet another key piece to its "off-ice” team that moving forward will help the club to continue in its quest to become one of the premier “AAA” organizations operating in the Greater Toronto Hockey League (GTHL) and indeed within Ontario. The Titans are proud to announce the immediate appointment of Pat Flatley as a Special Adviser of Hockey Operations. A native of Toronto, Pat will work closely with all members of the Titans' management team in its continuing efforts to become a leader in minor hockey within the GTHL.
Pat's hockey pedigree is exceptional to say the least. He played 2 years of college hockey (1981-1983) at the University of Wisconsin under the storied coach “Badger” Bob Johnson, where he was became an All-American, a First-Team Western Collegiate Hockey Association all-star and a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) All-Tournament team after helping Wisconsin capture the NCAA men’s ice hockey championship in 1983. As a Badger, Pat scored 42 goals and 106 points in 76 games over the 2 seasons he played NCAA hockey. Pat was a 1st round (21st overall) pick of the dynastic New York Islanders during the 1982 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft. He went on to a long and prosperous professional hockey career that lasted from 1984 to 1997. During his NHL career, Pat played in 918 games, including playoffs, scoring 188 goals and collecting 543 points and spent 4 years as the Islanders Captain.
After his playing career and outside the dynamic of life on the ice, Pat went to work for the NHL for 10 years with the NHL alumni association and created the “Life After Hockey Program” for retired players, a transition program aimed at helping retired players to plan for and to be ready to begin life after hockey. Pat also worked with the NHL Players Association in the player affairs department. He was involved with all aspects of player welfare - on ice, contacts, insurance, etc.
Titans' President Anthony Cella can't wait to bring Mr. Flatley aboard to help take the Titans (and its affiliate “A” and “AA” club the Toronto Ice Dogs – soon to become known as the Toronto Wolverines) to even higher levels of success, development and achievement. "We are working very hard to help build the Titans organizations into one of the premier "AAA" organizations in GTHL and a preferred organization of choice for players, coaches and families interested in development. I very much look forward to working with Pat, in our continuing quest to become better."
Pat echoed those sentiments as well — excited to become a key member of management within the Titans’ organization. "It is indeed an honour and a privilege to work within a dynamic, disciplined and highly-motivated organization like the Titans – an organization that shares my core values," said Flatley. "I agreed to join the Titans when it became clear we shared so many of the same core philosophies about hockey, on-ice and off-ice development and fostering a development model predicated on giving young hockey players every opportunity to become well-rounded, respectful and good people confident in their abilities. I also look forward to helping to guide our players and coaches as they move on to higher levels of within hockey – junior, collegiate (Canada and the United States) and professional."
Pat will work closely with all members of the Titans' and Wolverines’ management teams in their continuing efforts to becoming leaders in the GTHL. Cella sees this as an incredible “win-win” situation for all involved, as well as a compliment to all the great work the organizations have done. "Needless-to-say, it is a testament to the strength, discipline and vision of both clubs that we are able to attract someone with so much to offer our club, like Pat," says Cella. "We are an organization geared for excellence and this is just another building block along the way. Pat understands what it takes to be successful. Pat will assist the clubs in various ways, with an emphasis on helping us to attract and develop players and coaches interested in progressing to higher levels within hockey and forging enhanced relationships with other key constituents within minor and junior hockey."
For further information on this news release, please feel free to contact:
Anthony Cella
President, Toronto Titans Hockey Club
Email: acella@rogers.com
The Ring of Honour and Excellence
The Toronto Titans Organization is proud to introduce a program for recognizing Honour and Excellence within the organization. Coaches can nominate, in writing, players on their team who they believe should be recognized for such things as:
In essence, we are looking to develop hockey players as well as great people. We also want to ensure that this ring is something that is worn with pride. We also want it to be something that players strive for. Wearing this ring is a symbol of the type of people we want in our organization long term.
We also recognize coaches, assistants and managers. We want to build an organization where people want to come and stay. We believe it is important to acknowledge those people in the organization that best represent our core values.
Nominees for this award should be submitted by the end of December.
The first recipients of this ring will go to those who were recognized for their 5 years of dedication and support to the Titan Organization. They all received plaques at the banquet and will be presented with these rings during an upcoming team event.
Coach & Player Development Consultant
I am pleased to announce that Ryan Barnes is our new Coach & Player Development Consultant.
He is available to all teams that may require assistance or just want a “second set of eyes” to assess their team etc. He will also attend games and practice of all teams to assess and prepare a future development plan for both organizations. A brief bio is below.
Bio: Ryan played 7 years professionally, 5 in the Detroit Red Wings organization after being the club's 2nd round draft choice in 1998 (55th overall). He spent 2 seasons playing for Team Canada's Olympic Gold Medal winning coach Mike Babcock while playing in the AHL. Before turning pro, Ryan won an OHL championship with the Barrie Colts. Current Coach & Player Development Consultant for Toronto Titans (GTHL) Ryan spent 2 seasons in the Ontario Hockey League as Assistant Coach with the Peterborough Petes.
Coaches, feel free to contact him directly. Ryan’s services are available to any team within the organization (it won’t affect your team budget!). ryan@barneshockey.com
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
- Eric Cella
Congratulations Toronto Malboros!
Champions of the 2011 4th Annual Toronto Titans International Minor Midget Prospect Tournament.
GTHL Media Release Sept 14 Head Contact Rule