By Aaron Wilbur

Rick Nattress won a Stanley Cup as a member of the 1989 Calgary Flames

Beyond the wins and losses, coaching amateur sports provides us an opportunity to get involved in the community on a more personal level. Helping young people discover their character and the fulfillment that comes with working together within a team ultimately makes both the players and coaches better citizens. Most coaches can lean on past life experiences to pass on lessons that extend far beyond the rink.

In the case of Rick Nattress, it would be easy to assume that he would draw on the experience of playing 536 games in the National Hockey League when relating to his players on the Jr. B Stoney Creek Warriors. The Stanley Cup champion and former American League assistant coach obviously has a wealth of hockey knowledge to lend his players. However it was an incident that occurred off the ice early in his career that has proved to be the biggest influence on his coaching career. Scott Radley from the Hamilton Spectator has more here..

Here’s more coaching headlines.

- Philadelphia Flyers assistant coach joe Mullen enjoyed a distinguished playing career, which included 3 Stanley Cups. The Hockey News profiles the member of the 500 goal club here..

- One storyline emerging early on this season in the NHL is the amount of teams dealing with an apparent goalie controversy.  If you’re not aware, Vezina trophy winner and Olympian Ryan Miller is facing some crease competition in Buffalo. In St Louis, Jaroslav Halak is struggling to regain the playoff heroics he demonstrated in Montreal and is being pushed by backup Brian Elliot. Despite being paid an average salary of 6.7 million, Nicklas Backstrom has been earning his paycheck opening the gate for the Minnesota Wild. Chris Stevenson of the Toronto Sun discovers that many coaches share a similar philosophy when selecting their starting goaltender..

- Hockey apparently runs in the veins of the Chelios clan. Steve Chelios, the younger brother of future hall of famer Chris Chelios, is the first year head coach of the expansion Iron Range Ironheads. The team plays in the Superior International junior Hockey League and is off rough start. Like a lot of coaches at this time of year, Steve is on the lookout for a few players that can help his young squad compete on a nightly basis. Despite their 0-11 record, he remains focused on finding positives in what is shaping up to be long season in Iron Range..

- What did Tampa Bay Lightning coach Guy Boucher learn after his first season in the NHL? To be successful in the playoff you have to be menacing. And to be menacing you need four lines that can contribute.

- When life gives you lemons you’re supposed to turn them into lemonade. Phoenix Coyotes coach Dave Tippett apparently adheres to this motto. How else do you explain the results he has been able to squeeze out of a less than admirable roster, in a non traditional hockey market and for an organization searching for stable ownership. Tippett has sold his troops on embracing winning games the hard way and a Minnesota based ad agency is using this as motivation to sell hockey in the desert.

- Retired NHL defenseman Paul Mara has decided to put free time to use and join the coaching fraternity. The former 7^th overall pick by the Tampa Bay Lightning has stepped behind the bench at Bourne High School in his home state of Minnesota.