AHCA

April 2020 | ahcahockey.com 18 STOPS STARTS & School team then stayed behind the bench coaching travel teams in the area. Even with 12 broken or replaced bones in his body and 137 stitches in his face, all from former athletic endeavors, Childs remains an advocate for all sports, especially U-M Athletics and specifically Wolverine hockey. We also lost the chance to meet and enjoy the familiar pleasures of Naples, FL. Fortunately, we have one year left in our agreement with the Naples Beach Hotel before the wrecking ball is summoned, shortly after our 2021 Convention. Dates for next year: April 28-May 1, 2021. By the way, yes, we are all aware that the 2020-21 hockey season may be affected in ways that we can't predict right now, and that includes concerns over schools funding such things as post-season convention attendance. Stay tuned. With the cancellation of the Con- vention, we were unable to present all of the awards normally handed out in Naples. Coach of the Year honorees will receive their awards by mail. It remains to be determined how we will recognize other major award winners. It may be that we take a year off and present the 2020 honorees in 2021. And while we are on the Conven- tion, everyone will receive a refund for any convention fees paid. Some of you may have already received them. We have been disappointed by the number of programs that did not pay dues and join the AHCA this year. As of this writing, here is the tally of programs who have not paid dues: D1 Men—4; D1 Women—1; D 2-3 Men—28; D 2-3 Women—17. We still have bills to pay and it is disappointing that some coaches only join so they can attend the Conven- tion. Please note: if a program has not paid 2019-20 dues, their athletes will miss out on some of our AHCA honors. All Americans will not receive certificates and students who qualify for the AHCA Krampade Academic All-Stars will not be included among the announced honorees. As I am finishing this column, word arrived that Todd Woodcroft is the new men's head coach at the University of Vermont, replacing Kevin Sneddon. A McGill graduate, Woodcroft spent the last four years as an assistant coach with the Winnipeg Jets. Some of you may have attended his presentation in Naples last April. Among other news that recently crossed our desk was the appointment of former Northeastern University and Team Switzerland goaltender Florence Schelling as general manager of SC Bern in Switzerland's National League. Schelling's hiring makes her the first woman in such a role in top-level men's hockey. Schelling stared between the pipes for Northeastern as a four-year start- er from 2008-2012 and with the Swiss National Team for over 14 years. With the Huskies, Schelling was named a Patty Kazmaier Top-Three Fi- nalist in 2012 and graduated owning the career records in minutes played (5878), goals against average (1.74), save percentage (.940) and saves (2681). After retiring from inter- national hockey in 2018, Schelling coached for Switzerland's U18 wom- en's team before her current role with SC Bern. SC Bern is one of the biggest clubs in all of Europe, and were National League champions in 2019 before finishing in ninth-place this past season. What a treat to see college hockey get some love via John Buccigross and ESPN on April 11. Without a live "Friday Night at the Frozen Four" event this year, our Hobey friends— including but not limited to Wally Olson, Wally Shaver and Jim Martin—were able to land a coveted slot on ESPN's "Sports Center" on that Saturday night. For those of us who tuned in, we saw the announcement of the Hobey Baker Award, as well as the Richter Award, the Hockey Humanitarian Award and the Former Northeastern University goaltender Florence Schelling was recently named General Manager of SC Bern in Switzerland's top men's league. (Mike Silverwood Photo) Executive Letter | continued from page 3 New UVM men's head coach Todd Woodcroft (Winnipeg Jets Photo)

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