From on the ice to behind the bench it’s come full circle for Chris Beston.
After starring for the precursor to the Okotoks U18 AAA Bow Mark Oilers as a player in the late 1990s it’s now time to steer the ship as the head coach of the Alberta Elite Hockey League squad after four seasons leading the Jr. B Bisons.
“I played for the UFA Bisons and it’s kind of always been one my goals and dreams, I was fortunate enough to win the Mac’s Midget Tournament, and to have the opportunity to coach in it one day would be fantastic,” said Beston.
The leading scorer on the Bisons’ 1998-99 Mac’s championship team before moving onto a successful Jr. A career, Beston called the opportunity to lead the charges at the U18 AAA level a move towards more full-time coaching.
“We thought it might be a bit of a career move,” he said. “To develop younger players and try and move them onto the next level.
“We had a fantastic run with the Bisons, but just felt it was time to make a move.”
The 39-year-old moves on after four successful seasons with the Bisons, posting a record of 87-20-7 and win percentage of .794 from 2017-21.
Okotoks posted its best season in 14 years in 2019-20 with a 35-2-1 mark and were the prohibitive favourites to come away with its first league championship since the 2014 season before the playoffs were cut short due to the pandemic.
The 2020-21 campaign only allowed for two regular season games before the season was shuttered.
“The Bisons kind of renewed my love for the game,” said Beston, noting the strong relationships he forged with everyone in the organization. . “For a few years I was just kind of tired and just decided to go with the Bisons for one year and ended up there for four and loved every minute of it.
“I look back it as a perfect time in my life to be a part of that organization, the kids that we’ve seen over the last four years were unbelievable…”
Beston, who was an assistant coach with the Jr. A Oilers from 2008-10, will be the fourth head coach of the Bow Mark Oilers in the five year history of the team.
Ryan Barrett guided the team to its first playoff appearance in 2019-20 with the 2020-21 campaign shortened and significantly impacted by the pandemic.
This season Okotoks had a strong group of 2003 and 2004 born players, many of whom have since joined or committed to WHL or Jr. A teams – including the likes of Liam Watkins, Connor Poffenroth, Conyr Hellyer, Caden Scott and Daniel Hauser.
Beston expects to see a pretty new group when next season gets underway.
“It’s a different development league, obviously,” he added. “I’m excited about the opportunity and to see what they’re made of. You’ve got different potential, priorities are different at that age compared to the Junior B’s, I’m excited.”
Going forward, the head coach is expecting to see a big turnout and enthusiastic group of players eager to get back on the ice at tryouts given all of the challenges young athletes have endured during the pandemic.
“It’s not so much on the recruiting end, but it’s staying in touch and trying to make sure that they get on a program so that when we get ready for the season and tryouts everybody is coming ready and in shape,” he said.
“It’s just touching base and keeping in contact and making sure that the kids trying out know what we expect."
