By Earl Seitz

Beaver Valley Nighthawks coach looks to add more record wins at KIJHL College Showcase

Dec 27, 2018 | 2:48 PM

KAMLOOPS — All 20 teams in the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League are in Kamloops for the next three days for the league’s first college showcase.

One coach recently reached a milestone that very few coaches have ever achieved — sharing elite company with Scotty Bowman in the NHL and junior hockey coaching legend Brian Kilrea.

High school vice principal by day, hockey coach by night and weekends.

This past Nov. 30 Terry Jones coached his 1,000th career win.

“It means I’ve been around for a long time,” Jones tells CFJC Today.

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Since 1996 — 23 years, all with the same team — the KIJHL Beaver Valley Nighthawks, who play out of Fruitvale, a town of approximately 4,000, located 16 kilometers east of Trail.

In 23 seasons with Terry Jones as the head coach, the Nighthawks have never had a losing season, in the playoffs every year, winning eleven division championships, eight league titles, four Cyclone Taylor Cups and a Keystone Cup.

“I’ve been lucky to be a part of a lot of good hockey teams,” says the 52-year old Trail native.  “Lots of committed players, and we’ve had some good coaching staffs in Beaver Valley.”  

Terry Jones has a remarkable winning percentage behind the Beaver Valley bench.

Brian Kilrea won 1,193 games for a 55 per cent success rate in 35 seasons as head coach of the Ontario Hockey League Ottawa 67’s.

Scotty Bowman won 1,467 NHL games with five different NHL teams over 40 years, for a 63 per cent win rate.

Terry Jones has coached more than 1,450 games behind the Beaver Valley bench for a winning percentage of over 69 per cent.

But Jones says wins are more than just the numbers on the scoreboard.

“I think more than any one win, it’s watching players come from a really low place in their life, and watching them grow, and really takes steps,” says Jones. “To get to school, and have success later in life — those are the real wins.”

Terry Jones hopes to continue adding more of those kind of wins to his impressive resume — and with those on the scoreboard now numbering 1,005, a couple of more this week at the College Showcase wouldn’t hurt either.