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Report: Joel Ward expected to be named assistant coach of the Henderson Silver Knights

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Report: Joel Ward expected to be named assistant coach of the Henderson Silver Knights

Joel Ward officially ended his playing career April, but he’s already returning back to the sport in an official capacity. This time as a coach.

The Hockey News’ Ken Campbell is reporting that Ward is expected to be named an assistant coach with the Henderson Silver Knights, the AHL affiliate of the Vegas Golden Knights, later this week. The story is entitled Can Brett Peterson and Joel Ward become first Black GM and head coach in NHL history?

Ward will join Manny Viveiros, who was hired as the team’s first head coach in August, behind the bench. According to the AHL, Viveiros has 13 years of coaching experience, including stints as a head coach with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs (2019-20), an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers (2018-19), and two years as a general manager and head coach with the WHL’s Swift Current, where he won league Coach of the Year honors in 2017-18 while capturing the WHL championship.

The undrafted Ward was a hardworking player and an affable teammate, playing 726 NHL games with the Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and San Jose Sharks. Nicknamed The Big Cheese, Ward always stepped up in the playoffs and scored one of the biggest playoff goals in Capitals history, a rare Game Seven overtime series winner against the Boston Bruins in 2012.

“Hockey is a beautiful game, and it works in mysterious ways,” Ward wrote in the Players’ Tribune. “Some players, they end on a perfect high, some have it taken from them. But me, I kind of thought it was fitting that I went out the way I came in — without anybody really noticing.”

Since ending his career, Ward has tried to make the sport he loves most a more welcoming place for others. Wardo was among seven current and former Black NHL players to form the Hockey Diversity Alliance. The mission of the group is to “eradicate racism and intolerance in hockey” and “be a force for positive change not only within our game of hockey but also within society.”

In February, Ward returned to DC to host a street hockey clinic for kids, including many from the Fort Dupont Cannons. The next day, Ward dropped the ceremonial first puck before the Penguins/Capitals game while wearing a Black Girl Hockey Club hoodie.

Congratulations, Wardo!

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB

RMNB

#GetYourBellyOut named as charity ambassadors!

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#GetYourBellyOut named as charity ambassadors!

#GetYourBellyOut are thrilled to announce that Lorna Haymes, Gem Wills & Victoria Marie have been named as ambassadors for the UK’s national charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

Community Champions are a new tier of ambassadors which will sit alongside the likes of Anastacia, Sir Steve Redgrave, Carrie Grant and Darren Fletcher who currently fly the flag in order to raise awareness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

#GetYourBellyOut were selected as one of twelve new Community Champions as recognition for their dedication, passion and exceptional efforts in supporting the charity and the wider IBD community.

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Connect Magazine.

David Barker, Chief Executive at Crohn’s and Colitis UK said;
“The new Community Champions will reflect everyday supporters who are making a huge difference to the charity and the wider IBD community.”
“I am thrilled that GetYourBellyOut are one of our first Community Champions and that, like the others will encourage and inspire others. Our close community is our biggest strength and we would not be able to do the work we do without it. There are people doing incredible things everyday and launching the Community Champion programme is our way of recognising that.”

The #GetYourBellyOut team would like to thank our loyal campaign supporters for their ongoing love and support. We aim to continue our role in being a strong voice for the community and hope that becoming ambassadors for Crohn’s and Colitis UK serves as a clear mark of trust.
We couldn’t do what we do best on a voluntary basis without the amazing support that we receive from those who believe in us; our campaign supporters.

For more information about the new line-up of Community Champions visit the Crohn’s and Colitis UK website.

 

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