John Olver leaving Jr. Steelheads to return to ECHL

John Olver leaving Jr. Steelheads to return to ECHL

John Olver, left, instructs the Junior Steelheads in a 2011 game at Boise's CenturyLink Arena. Olver has accepted the General Manager position with the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors. Kyle Grabowski (right) will succeed Olver as Junior Steelheads head coach.

Three-time Thorne Cup winning coach John Olver is leaving the Idaho Junior Steelheads hockey club to become the General Manager of the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors.

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Olver guided the Idaho Steelheads to the 2004 Kelly Cup before leaving the team in 2006.

According to Bakersfield Californian writer Mike Griffiths, Olver called the promotion 'a new era' for Bakerfield and himself.

Bakersfield is still searching for a head head coach. Speculation in hockey circles suggests former Idaho Steelhead player and current Alaska Aces assistant coach Scott Burt is Olver's top choice for Condors head coach.

The Junior Steelheads will promote third-year assistant coach Kyle Grabowski to succeed Olver.

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The Idaho Junior Steelheads began play in 2009 as a Tier III Junior A-level hockey team competing in the Western States Hockey League. The team won its third straight Thorne Cup in 2013, and went on to win the United Hockey Union national championship in Las Vegas last week.

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