One would likely have to be inside the Flin Flon Bombers organization to understand the depth of pain head coach and general manager Mike Reagan and the club have felt falling three years in a row in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League final.
Yet from the outside the attitude toward the reigning SJHL Coach of the Year has to be one of admiration: to run to the league final three years in a row, in this wild, parity-rich circuit, is nothing short of remarkable.
The continuity, the focus, and the energy needed from Reagan had to be immeasurable.
Despite that level of success – his teams have won 68 percent of their regular season contests in the last three campaigns – Reagan remains resolute on resisting the urge to become hyper-focused on results.
“I think the biggest thing that I’d want our players to know is how much we care about them and their future,” he says.
“Our goal is to give every guy an opportunity at the next level. We want to see them grow as individuals and become better because they were a Bomber. We try preaching to do the right thing day in and day out, and for players that have a high compete level and work ethic. Those two things are non-negotiable and things we shouldn’t have to teach or coach.”
Reagan, 45, is Flin Flon through and through. He wore the Bomber maroon and scored 215 points over four seasons between 1996 and 2000. He now enters his 18th campaign at the helm of the club full of the same determination to pay their incredible fanbase back for their enormous support.
“Flin Flon is special to me for many different reasons,” he says.
“For one it’s my hometown. The passion of the fans, how engaged they are, and how the Bombers are a huge part of their lives.”
As not only the SJHL but also the Canadian Junior Hockey League coach of the year, Mike was invited to Las Vegas this summer for the annual National Hockey League Coaches Conference. He also plans to visit Toronto and the Bahamas for some well-earned rest time.
The 2024-25 club can return as fearsome a forward crew as any before the dawn of the campaign, led by ’23-24 goals-per-game league leader Carter Anderson, the hyper-promising young talent Koen Senft, and Swiss-Army knife centreman Anthony Piccininno. Few teams in the league can boast that type of talent ready to go on Day 1 with the cohesion of a campaign that went the distance.
SJHL/MJHL Showcase Young-Guns goaltender Kenneth Marquart will look to build off his SJHL-best .931 save percentage from last year and take the step into the everyday No. 1 role after the departure of veteran Harmon Laser-Hume to USports.
Surely, the Bombers should be right at or near the top of the league power rankings once September rolls around.
That said, Reagan never stops thinking of ways to make Flin Flon better.
“We like where we are,” he says, “but know we got to continue to look for players to fill in a few holes.”
An experienced winner, a quality human being, and a fierce competitor: Reagan is as complete a package as any of the head coaches in the SJHL.
