Former St Clair head coach Jimmy El-Turk joins Windsor Lancers.

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Less than a month after stepping down as head coach of the St. Clair Saints women’s volleyball team, Jimmy El-Turk has found a new post.

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The 34-year-old El-Turk is joining the University of Windsor Lancers men’s volleyball team as an assistant coach under head coach James Gravelle.

“We are pleased to be welcoming coach El-Turk back to our program,” Gravelle said in a release. “Jimmy returns to the blue and gold as a very successful and experienced coach and well-connected recruiter.”

A Holy Names high school product, El-Turk played for the Lancers and was on the coaching staff before joining the Saints for eight years and seven seasons where he compiled an 83-34 record. He guided St. Clair to a bronze-medal finish at the 2018 and 2020 conference championship.

“We will rely on Jimmy’s expertise at developing players at every position, his strong game planning and he will spearhead our recruiting efforts,” Gravelle said. “I cannot overstate the importance of this addition to our staff.”

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El-Turk and Gravelle are not strangers with the two co-founding the SKY Volley club program in 2015.

“It’s an honour to be returning to the University of Windsor and working alongside coach Gravelle,” El-Turk said in a release. “James, his staff and the players have built the program into a perennial OUA contender.

“I am excited to be joining an established program and playing my role in assisting the team in its pursuit of an OUA championship.”

Gibson at Combine

LaSalle’s Andrew Gibson is among 106 players currently attending the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo.

A defenceman for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, the six-foot-three, 198-pound Gibson is one of 20 Ontario Hockey League players invited to the combine, which features 65 forwards, 34 defencemen and seven goaltenders. Gibson was ranked 31st on the NHL Central Scouting Bureau’s final rankings among North American skaters.

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Gibson recently helped Canada win the bronze at the World Under-18 Hockey Championship in Switzerland with a 4-3 overtime win over Slovakia.

The Combine, which runs through Saturday, gives all 32 NHL teams physical and medical assessments of prospects and a chance to interview players ahead of the NHL Draft, which is set for June 28 and 29 in Nashville.

Lavin gets silver

Essex native Zach Lavin helped Canada to a silver-medal performance at the World Para Ice Hockey Championship, which was held in Moose Jaw, Sask.

The 26-year-old Lavin, who plays defence for Canada, had two goals and six points in five games in the eight-team tournament.

Canada’s only two losses of the event came to the United States, which has won the last three world championships.

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