CARROT RIVER — Luke Folk and Brennan Hall are excited to be leading the Carrot River Outback Thunder.
Last week the Junior B team announced that Folk was its new head coach and that Hall would serve as general manager. Folk played for the then Tri-Town Thunder in 2006-07. When asked about himself, Folk preferred to talk about the Outback Thunder and the people associated with the Prairie Junior Hockey League team.
“The love and support the community has shown to a countless number of kids just looking for a place to play. The endless volunteer work, in some cases over a decade of service. Carrot River has always felt like a home away from home to me and when I saw they were struggling I wanted to help. With the help of our new GM Brennan Hall, I’d love to bring back the excitement, passion and love for the game for both players and fans.”
Folk and Hall were in place for the Outback Thunder’s first game of 2019. The team battled but fell 4-3 to the Saskatoon Quakers at home on Saturday night. The Outback Thunder led 3-2 after two periods. As of Sunday, the Outback Thunder sported a 3-24-1 record.
Folk, who also played for the Saskatoon Quakers, said he has nothing but fond memories – on and off the ice – of his time in Carrot River.
“I owe a huge thank you to the Pihowichs, who were my billet family at the time; along with countless others for making my transition to Carrot River very easy and the time spent here so memorable.”
The duo of Folk and Hall take over for Rob Holoien and Trevor Logan. Holoien, who had been running the Outback Thunder bench, departed to be an assistant coach for the Junior A Battlefords North Stars. Logan was in his third season with the Outback Thunder. For most of that time he served as head coach and general manager. Earlier this season Logan stepped away from his coaching duties to focus on being the general manager and family commitments.
Hall is looking forward to using his varied hockey experience to help the Outback Thunder.
“I am excited to be apart of a great junior hockey organization in a great hockey community in Saskatchewan,” he said. “My dream has always been to work in hockey operations and this is just a great way to start a career in the field I love so much. I am also extremely excited to be working in this area of the province, as I spent 2005-10 living in Porcupine Plain, so I am very familiar with the whole North East area.”
Hall is currently an intern in the Communications & Community Relations department of the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades. He will be continuing those duties as well as working for the Outback Thunder. Hall is in his final year of studies at the University of Saskatchewan for a Bachelor of Commerce in Management degree. As part of his university studies, he developed a business plan to put a senior AAA hockey team on the ice in Warman.
Hall is very involved with Saskatchewan ball hockey programs. He manages his men’s team, the Rotten Donkeys, who have won two provincial titles, a league championship, and competed in the 2016 B national championships. He has been the head coach and general manager at the U15 and U17 levels for the Team Saskatchewan ball hockey clubs. In 2018, the U17 squad won silver at the Western Challenge Cup in Victoria, BC.
