Have a story idea? Contact us at sports @theotherpress.ca @ Join the club, Cloutier take on the role as a mentor for the goaltenders in the Canucks development system. Even though the Canucks already have a goalie coach, Rollie Melanson, they feel they need the grade-A calibre advice that Cloutier brings to the game as well. The same goalie who was infamously scored on from By Josh Martin, Sports Editor “Great save, Cloutier!” He’s back! The goaltender that so many of us have fond memories of—or rather, none of us have. Dan Cloutier has been hired by the Canucks as a goaltending consultant to Royals Roundup By Josh Martin, Sports Editor t's that time of year again! The leaves are starting to fall off the trees and Thanksgiving is just around the cornet, which means volleyball season! The Royals men’s volleyball team is coming off a very successful year after having won the PACWEST provincial title. This season, they’re looking like a more balanced team rather than a two-man show, after losing some key players at last season’s end. 20 “With Jeff [Taylor] gone and also Dawson [Kaleb Dawe] we have more of a balanced attack instead of just tossing it up to Jeff the giant. We’re spreading the sets around more and hitting left side, right side, pipes, middles, and all around. All four guys,” said Lucas DeCoste who recently made the switch to the Douglas College men’s volleyball team after playing for two years with the men’s basketball team. DeCoste will join a team that looks to repeat as PACWEST Provincial champions and hopefully go on to win centre ice by Nick Lidstrom in a playoff game. Yes, he will be a “goaltender consultant,” but what does that actually mean? It seems to be the easiest thing to do for retired professional athletes, specifically ex-NHL players, to fall back into the game and bathe in the benefits, with Cloutier being the latest to do this. His job will be giving advice to up- and-coming goaltenders entering their careers, because apparently Cloutier has “been through it all.” He was a starting goalie, a back-up goalie, a pulled goalie, a fighter, and a goalie that “couldn’t stop a beach volleyball.” Mr. Cloutier has seen it all— except glory. But apparently if you were an athlete at some point in your life, jobs are just easier to come by. The Sportsnet and TSN networks hire retired players all the time who wouldn’t necessarily qualify for the job. However, they bring the ex-NHL player factor to their resume and suddenly they’re in front of a camera. That’s all it takes for ex-athletes. Otherwise, it would require a degree and years of schooling. Just look at Nick Kypreos, who was a fourth-line player for his entire career. His reputation as a hockey analyst on Sportsnet is Nationals this year. “There were a number of factors [in switching to the volleyball team], one of them being I knew some guys on the volleyball team and I wanted to play volleyball straight out of high school. But our volleyball team in high school wasn’t all that great compared to our basketball team. So having a more competitive basketball team, I decided to play basketball first year. “T came out and had a good summer training camp and made the switch.” The Royals begin tarnished. I often wonder how a guy like this could even possibly be allowed to talk in front of a camera. Former Canucks coach Marc Crawford is another example who worked on TSN as a commentator and a hockey analyst while in- between jobs. Watching Crawford and his high- pitched voice making remarks on how well the Canucks were doing—years after he got canned by the organization—was quite the sight. The appeal of a former professional athlete is far greater than someone who went to school for sports science or journalism. The general public is more interested in watching someone that they’re already familiar with, even if it was cheering for them on a sports team, rather than a fresh face. Mr. Cloutier, I hope you enjoy your new career at 35, after having retired four years ago. It will be a strenuous task to give advice to goaltenders coming into the eternal world of leisure and money. Congratulations and good luck. Dan Cloutier | Photo courtesy of www grind365.com their season with back-to- back games against the Capilano Blues on Friday October 12 and October 13. The women’s team will face the Blues at Capilano on Friday at 6 p.m. and will head home for the home opener at 6 p.m. on Saturday. The men’s team will be facing the Blues at 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday. The men’s soccer team tied the Kwantlen Eagles on Saturday 1-1, and then beat them on Sunday by a score of 2-0. They are currently second in the standings with 17 points, behind the VIU Mariners who are sitting in first position with 18 points. Next weekend they’Il face the TRU Timberwolves on Saturday at 3 p.m. and the UBCO Heat on Sunday at 2 p.m., both games at home. The women’s soccer team tied the Eagles this past Saturday 1-1 and then tied them again on Sunday 0-0. They are in seventh position in the standings with seven points. They will face the Timberwolves this Saturday at 1 p.m. and the Heat on Sunday at 12 p-m. in Coquitlam.