I caught up with Jamestown Ironmen Head Coach, Dan Daikawa in the basement of the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena while he was putting together lockers in what the Ironmen will soon call home. Daikawa may be new to the area, but he has already developed some ideas for change.

“We truly have to help each other and stick together as a group,” said Daikawa when referring to potential relationship between junior hockey, youth hockey and figure skating in Jamestown. “It all ties together,” explained Daikawa. “It all starts with skating, and once kids learn to skate, they can learn to play hockey, and once they learn to play hockey they begin to love and become fans of the sport.”

Coach Daikawa’s logic does make sense. Before kids start to play hockey, they need to learn how to skate which would boost numbers of the Jamestown Skating Club’s Learn-to-Skate program. “As more kids are in the building and exposed to the ice, there will be more and more kids signing up for hockey,” said Daikawa. “Kids that already know how to skate and choose to sign up for hockey will only improve the level of competition on the ice as they will be able to stay upright.”

With skating and youth hockey registration numbers up, that translates to more families coming in and out of the doors at the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena some of which haven’t been involved with activities at the arena before. That traffic will give the NAHL’s newest franchise, the Ironmen much more exposure and the opportunity to build a fan base with its foundation in the families of this community. “The more people we have involved in ice sports, especially hockey, the better,” Daikawa said. “Aside from raising participation in both figure skating and youth hockey, it will give us as the Ironmen a chance to allow families to get to know our players on a personal level, and give us the opportunity to win over some fans.”

Daikawa, originally from Apple Valley, Minnesota, played collegiate hockey at the University of Miami from 1991 – 93. Following his time in Florida, Daikawa played 11 years in Japan and throughout Europe.

After his playing days, he most recently coached the Miami of Ohio’s club hockey team and served as the University’s Assistant Director of Programming at the Gaggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio. During his time in Ohio, Daikawa dealt with intramurals, tournaments and was the coach-coordinator for youth hockey. Daikawa said that when he started at Miami of Ohio four years ago, they had three youth hockey teams in Oxford, and following his tenure at the Gaggin Ice Center, they now have nine teams. This is a good sign for Chautauqua County, an area looking to boost its youth hockey program.

The Ironmen coaching staff consists of Daikawa at the helm with Yuji Iwamoto as the assistant coach. Iwamoto, a native of Sapporo, Japan; played 20 years in the Japanese Professional Hockey League immediately after graduating high school.

Seth Wolfe will serve as goalie coach for the Ironmen. Originally from Pittsburgh, Wolfe played one year of Division III college hockey at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. He then played for two years under Daikawa for the University of Miami’s Club Hockey Team. Although young at 23 years old, Wolfe carries a bundle of experience having worked with Mitch Korn, the Nashville Predators goalie coach.

Daikawa is in the process of moving his wife and three kids to the area from Ohio. “We need families to be involved in order to ensure the success of the sport of hockey in Jamestown,” said Daikawa. Coach Daikawa believes that the Ironmen junior hockey program and the efforts of the Chautauqua County Youth Hockey Association will yield positive results for the growth of youth hockey in Jamestown.