The Humboldt Broncos have found their man.
After spending more than a month in search of a new assistant coach to replace Brayden Klimosko, the Broncos have announced the hiring of Mark Cross.
“I’m just very thrilled to be a part of the organization and community there in Humboldt and I’m really looking forward to it,” says Cross.
Cross, a Strasbourg native, says between his time growing up and his time in the SJHL, he developed a great respect for the Broncos organization, and said it made the decision an easy one.
“They’ve always been a very successful when I was growing up and I had an interview with (Broncos head coach) Darcy (Haugan) and got along very well with him and I’m just very thankful for this opportunity.”
Cross is a former Saskatchewan Junior Hockey Leaguer, who spent three seasons playing for the Estevan Bruins from 2008-2011, before moving to Ontario to play five seasons of collegiate hockey with York University from 2011-2016.
During his time with the York Lions, Cross spent three seasons serving as an assistant captain, and was team MVP in 2015-2016.
Cross was also nominated for the Charles Saundercook Award, given to the student-athlete who displays perseverance, sportsmanship, enthusiasm for life, and consideration of others.
Haugan noted in a press release from the team that it was Cross’s whole package that made him a good fit for the Broncos.
“Besides Mark’s playing experience, it was his work ethic and character that stood out the most for myself.”
Cross says his experience will play a big role in his ability to help coach the team, noting his experience has provided him with a lot of knowledge on the technical, and strategic aspects of the game, and says he will also be helping the players with their fitness.
Having spent eight of the last ten years playing either SJHL or CIS hockey, Cross says his recent familiarity with being a player will also be a valuable teaching tool for the players.
“There was a lot of things that I could help them with along the way that I wish I would have learnt or known beforehand… so I think there are quite a few things that I think I can instill upon them.”
While Cross does not have a great deal of coaching experience he did serve as an assistant coach with the Lumsden Midget AA program last year, and says that provided him with a great deal of learning experiences.
“It was kind of eye opening. Just the way you have to approach each game is a little different, there’s a lot more behind the scenes work than you really think when you first go into it but it was a lot of fun… I definitely learnt a lot throughout the season there.”
Heading into the season Cross says he has a little bit of familiarity with the players, but says he has not seen them play yet and notes he is looking forward to watching film on them in the coming weeks and meeting them at camp.
