Coaching
John Olver joins the Idaho Junior Steelheads as the team’s new General Manager and Head Coach the 2009-10 season bringing with him a wealth of knowledge about the business of hockey, not only as a former Head Coach, but as a former owner and founder of the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL). Prior to graduating from the University of Michigan in 1984 with a degree in Economics, and after being drafted by the Colorado Rockies (New Jersey Devils) in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft, Olver served as both a Head Coach and Assistant General Manager capacity for various teams in Western Canadian Junior Hockey. In 1988, the British Columbia native served as the General Manager and Head Coach for the Tri-City Americans (WHL) and was President of Continental Sports Corporation. While with Continental, he took part in the development, construction, and management of the new 6,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Kennewick, Washington. A few years later, he found himself back in his home province of British Columbia, as General Manager and Head Coach of the New Westminster Royals and then the Kelowna Spartans. In 1994, Olver served as the President of Sports-R-Us and along with Bruce Taylor, helped co-found the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) as part owner of three of the original six WCHL franchises in Fresno, California; Reno, Nevada; and Bakersfield, California. Olver also worked with the local Bakersfield city government to develop and construct the new 10,000 seat Centennial Gardens for Downtown Bakersfield. After two seasons at the helm of the Fresno Falcons as Owner, General Manager and Head Coach, Olver, along with Taylor, sold all three teams and established another WCHL team, the Tacoma Sabercats, in 1997. Olver held the same position with the Sabercats for three seasons, earning WCHL Coach of the Year honors three consecutive years, 1997-2000. The Sabercats established the WCHL’s all-time single-game attendance mark their first season: 14,275 on March 28th, 1998. His 1998-99 sophomore season in Tacoma also saw his team capture the WCHL Taylor Cup Championship. In the WCHL’s 1999-00 season, Olver was appointed the Official Treasurer of the League to go along with his Ownership, General Manager, and Head Coaching duties. The 2000 season saw him begin a five-year stint as the Vice President of Hockey Operations and Head Coach of the Idaho Steelheads. He earned his fourth WCHL Coach of the Year honors at the conclusion of the 2001-02 season. After the 2002-03 season, the WCHL was absorbed by the then East Coast Hockey League. The East Coast Hockey League eventually changed their named to The ECHL. In their first season in the ECHL, Olver’s Steelheads captured the 2003-04 Kelly Cup as League Champions. He spent the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons as an Assistant Coach of the Northern Michigan University Wildcats, before joining the Iowa Stars as the team’s General Manager. John can be contacted directly via email at jolver@IdahoJuniorSteelheads.com or by calling him at (208) 935-6776.
