The Willmar Warhawks, proud members of the NA3HL, are pleased to announce that Doc Delcastillo will return next season, and take on the Head Coaching Responsibilities. Coach DelCastillo has 25 years experience coaching hockey, beginning at the conclusion of his playing career at St. Cloud State, NCAA Division I.
Coach Delcastillo’s coaching experience at higher levels, including NCAA Division I and III, USHL, NAHL and now tier-3 juniors, will add value and insight that players at this level seek for opportunities to advance. “I’m very excited to return to Willmar with a fresh start to the season. It’s a great community with a lot of passionate fans, and the programs operated by Mr. Canavati are first class,” Doc remarked. “We will be recruiting a lot of new faces over the summer to join the Warhawks core that will be returning, in hopes of creating a championship team that sees a lot of players move on to higher levels.”
The relationship between the Brookings Blizzard NAHL team and the Willmar NA3HL program is one that Coach Doc hopes to utilize more consistently and often next season. “The advantage of a program like Willmar, in addition to the amazing venue for young men to grow and develop as hockey players and people, is the fact that our ownership group also owns a team at the NAHL level. This is the exact relationship players should want to be in, where they can advance for opportunities at the next level, and borderline tier-2 players can spend time at the tier-3 program for development and additional ice time to fine-tune their game.”
With Coach Mike Bowman’s promotion to Director or Business Operations, he will now serve as Associate Head Coach in addition to his off-ice duties. Together, Coach Doc and Mike have over 45 years of coaching experience, and that’s a major benefit to the players who embrace the challenge to become Willmar Warhawks.
Coach Doc can be reached at Doc@willmarwarhawks.com.
