It was announced this past weekend that Rick Freese will be coaching the Parkland U18 Rangers this upcoming season alongside Tyler Carefoot. That means not only will the U18 program be changing, but the Dauphin Clippers will be changing as well.

Rick was the head coach of the team this past season when they advanced to the league final where they were set to play the Killarney Raiders. Jason Alf will now be in charge of finding a new bench boss for the Clippers.

"We've kind of been preparing for this for a couple of weeks now," said Alf. "I have some irons in the fire so to speak. There are some people I have approached and will approach moving forward."

Dauphin has advanced to the league final in the past two seasons. Two seasons ago, Trevor Robak was at the helm before he stepped away from coaching. Robak still refs heavily for Clippers, Rangers, and various other levels in Dauphin. 

Alf knows being a head coach of a high school team isn't easy, but he knows there are some good candidates for the job.

"This is a volunteer position at the end of the day, so whoever ends up as coach has to know that," said Alf. "We've been very fortunate over the years to have some excellent coaches. After 20 years, I have a pretty good idea of what will work and who I can work with."

Alf, as expected, will return as an assistant coach and manager of the team. He will also remain as co-president of the Westman High School Hockey League.