Norman Blizzard head coach leaves program

The Norman Blizzard’s championship defense season could not have gone worse.

After losing most of the core that led them to that championship, as well as head coach Eric Labrosse before the season even began, they turned to Ty Valin to try and recover the season.

That hiring hasn’t worked out as they had hoped with the team announcing Valin “will no longer be filling the position as Head Coach/General Manager,” on social media Jan. 13.

“Ty has given his time, energy, and passion to our organization, and we are appreciative of his commitment to our players and staff,” the team posted.

“We thank him for his contributions and wish him every success in the next chapter of his coaching journey.”

Assistant coach Derek Puttick, who also joined the organization in the summer of 2025, will take over as interim head coach for the program.

PEARSON MILESTONE

Neepawa Titans head coach Ken Pearson, who has been coaching in the Junior A ranks since 1994, reached the 1,500 game mark earlier this month.

His career includes stops with Winkler, Winnipeg Blues, Brooks in the Alberta league and Battlefords in the Saskatchewan league. He joined Neepawa, the place where he started his coaching career as an assistant, at he start of the 2020/2021 season.

Pearson also celebrated his 750th coaching win this year.