Junior B Athletics name new coach
The new head coach of the St. Catharines Junior B Athletics is a lacrosse lifer.
Riley Hutchcraft is a 27-year-old Mimico native who played lacrosse in his hometown as a youngster, was a goaltender for the junior A Mountaineers and is currently the starting netminder for the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League.
Hutchcraft takes over for Alec Tamas, who parted ways with the Athletics after last season.
Hutchcraft has coached at the minor level in Mimico, was their junior B coach last season, worked with the junior A netminders, and also works in lacrosse development at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville.
Hutchcraft was looking to add to his resume when he ran into A’s general manager Jeff Chcoski, who was his GM when Chcoski worked with Mimico.
“I’m super excited,” Hutchcraft said. “When Chickie approached me a couple months ago, it was one of those things that made sense for me and my family, just having moved to St. Catharines. Coaching is a big passion of mine so to be able to do that and also have that quality family time that I was looking for, it was a no-brainer.
“I love lacrosse, and it’s kind of been one of those things that I’ve been able to to kind of rely on full-time playing so my next goal would be to to coach at the highest level and by doing this and starting to insert myself into the system it’ll help me grow to that next level which is hopefully the A’s and then eventually the NLL and so on.”
Chcoski and new junior B general manager Chico Williams interviewed Hutchcraft for the job.
“When we had the interview with Riley all three of us were on the same page as to which way the junior A and junior B programs were going to roll,” Chcoski said.
Hutchcraft is happy to be cog in the A’s organization as the Athletics prepare to host the Minto Cup this August.
“My coaching philosophy, and it’s always been the same, is if you have a junior A team and a junior B team, you work as one unit to get to that ultimate goal,” he said. “Obviously, our goal is to win a Founders Cup and that’s where our heads will be at, but we’re also there to support the A’s and get them to where they want to go in the Minto Cup.
“We’re just going to work as one big unit at the end of the day.”
Hutchcraft said he always admired the Athletics from afar.
“The heritage runs deep here and that’s something that doesn’t just come from St. Catharines, it’s viewed upon throughout the whole league,” he said. “Growing up playing against St. Catharines, you see that heritage and to be a part of it firsthand now is something I’m super excited to dive into.”
Hutchcraft feels being an active player at the professional level is a huge plus.
“The game has grown so much over the years and there’s a new style to play so being in that style of play and seeing it firsthand as a player at the professional level, it just kind of helps bring that to the youth levels and kind of help them grow into the new style,” he said. “Just preaching that to them is something that I think is beneficial just so that they’re as prepared as they can be to either play junior A or go on to the next level and play professional.”
The organization is still working on rounding out the junior B staff.
A’s acorns: The Junior A Athletics drafted forward Hudson Dalpe (Windsor Warlocks) with their only selection in the 2025 Ontario Junior Lacrosse League draft last week.
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