On Aug. 5, NAIT’s Athletics and Recreation department announced that the Ooks men’s hockey head coach Scott Fellnermayr would be stepping down after 14 years with the program. Fellnermayr worked at NAIT for nearly a decade and played with the Ooks for four years prior. Undoubtedly, he’s left a long-lasting legacy on campus.
But when he moved to Alberta in 2012, Fellnermayr never intended to play for the Ooks. The men’s hockey coach at the time, Serge Lajoie, took a chance on him.
“I didn’t think I would stay very long,” Fellnermayr told the Nugget in an emotional interview. “I thought I would play a couple years and go back to my hometown in Kelowna. A decade and a half later, I’m still living here. I’m really grateful for that.”
“He’s been a part of NAIT, so it’s weird to see him move on … so we’re very happy for him, but also sad to see him go.”
In his first season with the Ooks, Fellnermayr saw NAIT’s first championship in 17 years. Then, the Ooks went on to win provincials again in his third and fourth year. “We went undefeated that year [2016], which was extremely special,” the former Ooks captain recalls.
After graduating, Fellnermayr took a year off to play pro hockey. He returned to NAIT and worked for the men’s hockey team as video coach, then assistant coach, then interim head coach after COVID shut down campus sports.
Then, at just 28 years old, he became head coach.
“I was really new to coaching to have a head coach role at such a prominent school,” Fellnermayr says, adding that it was overwhelming at first. But both the Ooks Hockey Alumni Association and NAIT’s director of athletics and recreation, Jordan Richey, saw his potential.
“We won [provincials] that year,” says Fellnermayr, recalling the 2021-22 season — his first as head coach.
“We had a really good leadership group that was supportive of me, even though I was new and struggled with some of the things that were required to coach, and we pulled through.”
Richey says he’s seen Fellnermayr grow up. “He’s been a part of NAIT, so it’s weird to see him move on,” he said, but Richey said he knew that Fellnermayr would eventually take the next step.
“He’s trying to get to the highest level possible for hockey. So we’re very happy for him, but also sad to see him go,” says Richey.
Fellnermayr tackling new challenge
Now 35, Fellnermayr is moving on to a new associate coaching role with the Sherwood Park Crusaders, which are under the British Columbia Hockey League, an independent Canadian junior hockey league with teams across B.C. and Alberta.
Fellnermayr said he initially applied for the Crusaders’ head coach position when it opened. Though the head coach position was filled, the Crusaders liked Fellnermayr’s application and asked what it would take to bring him on.
“As much as I really wish I could coach this team [the Ooks], this year, for my career, it just made sense,” he explains. Still, Fellnermayr is confident that the Ooks are in a good spot without him, and he’s proud of the impact he’s made on the team.
“Even if people don’t understand it right now, I think they’ll understand pretty soon when the team comes out and hits the ice in October,” Fellnermayr says.
“We have a very strong team coming in to play, and that’s testament to Scott’s recruiting ability,” says Richey. “The new coach is going to be put in a very favourable position because of the hard work Scott put in.”
Richey believes the Ooks men’s hockey team is one of the top college programs in the country, and Fellnermayr was “a big part of it.”
The team has ‘strong foundation’ to rely on
By the end of August, the men’s team will have a new head coach — someone adaptable and flexible who can “maintain that high standard that NAIT athletics expects of our men’s hockey program,” says Richey.
The foundation for the year is already planned out for the team, who will be travelling to Vancouver to play exhibition games against the UBC Thunderbirds in October. NAIT will also be hosting the Chinese national hockey team again, led by former NAIT coach Perry Pearn.
As for former head coach Scott Fellnermayr? He’ll be back to watch an Ooks game as soon as he gets a chance.
“I’ll be here right away,” he says, holding back tears as he spoke about his desire to continue supporting the team he’d spent so many years with.
“I want to see them do well so, so badly.”
Feature image via NAIT
