It didn’t take long for Shane Bliss to find himself behind a bench again.
Bliss agreed to join the coaching staff of the Muskie boys’ hockey team for next season, it was announced Wednesday.
“I’m very happy to be part of the Muskie program,” Bliss, 31, said Friday morning. “I’ve played there for four years and always thought about being able to help coach them eventually.
“It’s a good opportunity.”
The announcement came just two days after Bliss said he would not return as assistant coach of the Borderland Thunder as a result of the team’s decision to replace head coach Wayne Strachan with Dave Allison last week.
A phys. ed. and math teacher at Fort High for two years, Bliss said he had been approached by principal Ian Simpson and athletic directors Greg Ste. Croix and Darren Johnson about coaching the team.
One meeting with Muskie head coach Glen Edwards later and the deal was done.
“He had expressed interest and we thought it was a good fit,” said Edwards, who also will have longtime assistant Ken Christiansen on staff.
Bliss played on the Muskies from 1986-89, winning two all-Ontario championships.
A former Thunder Bay Flyer, Bliss also coached the ‘AAA’ PeeWee Kings in Thunder Bay, as well as the local ‘AA’ PeeWee Knights and ‘AA’ Tagg’s Bantams, before joining the Thunder last spring.
In related news, Hockey Northwestern Ontario has given permission to the Fort Frances Minor Hockey Association to make the Muskies an affiliated ‘AAA’ Midget hockey team next season.
The FFMHA’s board of directors will meet later this month to hold a vote on officially granting them status.
If the vote goes through, the Muskies will be able to play exhibition games with the Kenora ‘AAA’ Stars, the ‘AAA’ Thunder Bay Kings, and be eligible for Air Canada Cup qualifiers along with their regular NorWOSSA high school schedule.