VANCOUVER, WA - The Fort Vancouver Vipers are pleased to announce that former NHLer, Portland Winterhawk great, and Western Hockey League (WHL) Head Coach, Jim “Dobber” Dobson has agreed to Coach the Vipers starting immediately!

Jim Dobson was born in Winnipeg, Canada and learned from an early age that hockey was his passion in life.  This passion brought him to Portland, Oregon in 1978 where he played two seasons with the Portland Winterhawks.  During his two seasons with the Hawks, he amassed 104 goals and tallied 107 assists for 211 points in 143 games.  In 1979 Jim was drafted 90th overall by the Minnesota North Stars, but remained with the Winterhawks for the 1979-80 season where he was a top 5 point score in the WHL with 134 pts and helped his team win the regular season Western Division title.        

Jim played his first NHL game as a North Star against the New York Rangers and would later go on to play 11 more games in the NHL with Minnesota, the Colorado Rockies, and the Quebec Nordiques.  According to Jim, “Playing in the NHL was a dream come true.  I didn’t have a stellar NHL career because of injuries and probably because I was with the wrong team at the wrong time, but I was fortunate enough to have played a few games in the NHL and to get a taste of it.  That’s not something that every player has the opportunity to do.”  Jim’s NHL career was short lived; however, he continued to play professional hockey in the Central Hockey League (CHL) and American Hockey League (AHL) with various teams until he retired from playing in 1986.

Soon after hanging up his skates, Jim was approached by the WHL Seattle Thunderbirds and offered an assistant coaching job.  He took the job in December of 1987 and by February 1988 he was promoted Head Coach.  “Believe me” said Jim “I was not very well received by the Thunderbird fans when I went up there.  I took a lot of verbal abuse being an ex-Winterhawk coaching the T-Birds, but by the end of that year, they were passing around a petition in the stands to make sure I came back as the coach for the following year.”

Following his time with the Thunderbirds Jim started a family and has twin daughters, Rochelle and Janelle.  He is extremely proud of his daughters, both of which attended the University of Oregon.  Jim has settled in the Portland area and has called it home for over 20 years, and he has loved every minute of it.

The passion Jim discovered as a youth for the game of hockey back in Winnipeg has never left him.  It is his passion and love for the game that has brought him to the Vipers organization and we are fortunate to be able to call him Coach Dobson!!

If you are interested in playing for Coach Jim “Dobber” Dobson and the Vipers this season, we encourage you to call or e-mail the team’s General Manager Chuck Cheshire at 360-910-9806 or chuck@fortvancouvervipers.com  Another option for potential players is to register for the team’s Tryout Camp to be held on June 7th & 8th at Mt View Ice Arena.  For additional information about the Vipers 2014-15 season, please like us on Facebook and keep checking the team’s official website for updates.  We hope to see you at the “Snake Pit.”