Manitoba Moose

Noel, 54, becomes the sixth head coach in the 15-year history of the Manitoba Moose. Last year, the Kirkland Lake, ON native spent his third season with the Columbus Blue Jackets starting the season as an Assistant Coach before taking over from Ken Hitchcock as Head Coach on February 3, 2010. The Blue Jackets finished the season 10-8-6 under the guidance of Noel. During his three years with the club, the Blue Jackets compiled a record of 107-102-15-22 in 246 games.

Before his time with the Blue Jackets, Noel spent four seasons as Head Coach of the Milwaukee Admirals, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Nashville Predators. During that time, he led the club to a 183-94-12-31 regular season record, three 100-point seasons and two West Division titles. He also compiled a 33-21 record in the Calder Cup Playoffs, including two appearances in the Finals. During the 2003-04 season, the club compiled a 46-24-7-3 record and went 16-6 in the playoffs en route to capturing the organization’s first-ever Calder Cup Championship. Noel was subsequently named the Coach of the Year when he was honoured with the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award.

Noel made his coaching debut in the ECHL with the Roanoke Valley Rebels in 1990-91 and served as the Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the ECHL’s Dayton Bombers from 1991-93. In 1993, he joined the Kalamazoo Wings (later the Michigan K-Wings), the International Hockey League affiliate of the Dallas Stars, as an Assistant Coach. He succeeded then coach, Ken Hitchcock, behind the bench during the 1995-96 season and served in that capacity through the 1997-98 campaign. From 1998-02, he was an Assistant Coach with the Milwaukee Admirals and in 2002-03 was named ECHL Coach of the Year with the Toledo Storm before returning to Milwaukee as Head Coach prior to the 2003-04 season.

As a player, Noel appeared in seven games with the Washington Capitals during the 1979-80 season. He spent most of his playing career in the AHL and IHL and was named the latter’s Most Valuable Player in 1982-83 after leading the Toledo Goaldiggers to the Turner Cup Championship. He also won a Calder Cup as a member of the Hershey Bears in 1979-80. He wrapped up his playing career with Milwaukee in 1987-88.

Keith McCambridge enters his first season behind the Moose bench as an assistant coach to Scott Arniel. McCambridge comes to the Moose from the ECHL's Alaska Aces where he held the Head Coaching position since 2007-08. Last season, McCambridge led the Aces to within a game of their second Kelly Cup title in four years when they lost Game 7 of the finals at home to the South Carolina Stingrays. Hist two-year record as head coach during the regular season was 86-50-8 (.625), including the club's fourth West Division and third National Conference title in five years this past season. His departure ends a seven-year tenure with the Aces, including three years as a playing captain and one as an assistant coach. McCambridge closed out his playing career in 2006, when Alaska defeated Gwinnett in five games to capture the ECHL championship.

In 1999-00 the left-handed defenceman played three games with the Manitoba Moose in the IHL where he accumulated one assist and four penalty minutes. He played 378 games in the AHL earning nine goals, 21 assists, for a total of 30 points and 1057 penalty minutes in the regular season.

A Thompson, Manitoba native, McCambridge and his wife Susan recently moved to Winnipeg with children Lauren and Aidan.

Rick St. Croix once again joins the Moose for his fifth season as Assistant Coach where he works primarily with the goaltenders. Previous to his current stint with the hockey team, St. Croix was a goaltending consultant with the Moose in 2003-04. Prior to that, he was the Goaltending Coach with the Dallas Stars from 1997 to 2000. During that time, the Stars won the Stanley Cup as St. Croix played a role in the development of former NHL All-Stars Eddie Belfour and Marty Turco. He was also the Goaltending Coach for the Winnipeg Jets in the 1988-89 season.

St. Croix played eight seasons in the NHL after being drafted out of Oshawa by the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975. His best year was in Philadelphia in 1980-81 when he recorded a career-best 2.49 goals against average and his only two NHL shutouts in 27 games.

After his career, St. Croix opened a series of youth goaltending schools in Manitoba, Ontario, and the United States. A Winnipeg native, St. Croix and his wife Michelle, have four children: Richelle, Courtney, Chris and Michael.

Craig Heisinger enters his eighth full season in his role as General Manager of the Manitoba Moose. Heisinger's exceptional leadership and strong dedication made the 2008-09 season the most successful in Moose history. Thanks to Heisinger's managerial direction and keen eye for talent, the Moose set a number of franchise records including the most wins in a regular season (50) and the most road wins (25), while tying the franchise mark for the most home wins in one season (25). The Moose finished first overall in the American Hockey League and as a result Heisinger was named the winner of the James C. Hendy Memorial Award as the outstanding executive in the American Hockey League.

Heisinger was appointed General Manager of the Moose on July 15th, 2002, succeeding then Moose Head Coach Randy Carlyle. In that time, Zinger has amassed a record of 248-168-24-40 in 480 games. In his previous three seasons in the Moose front office, Heisinger worked as the Assistant General Manager to Carlyle. Prior to the 1999-00 season, Zinger was the Equipment Manager with both the Moose and the Winnipeg Jets for 11 years.

Heisinger received his start in hockey as the Equipment Manager with the Fort Garry South Blues of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League during the 1978-79 season. He spent the next eight years in the Western Hockey League with the Winnipeg Warriors and Brandon Wheat Kings. In 1988, after his final year in Brandon, he represented Canada as the Trainer for the gold-medal-winning World Junior Team in Moscow. After the championships, Heisinger joined the Winnipeg Jets as Assistant Equipment Manager. In 1990, he became the Jets' Senior Equipment Manager and was with the team until their move to Phoenix in 1996. In 1997 he worked with the gold-medal-winning Canadian Team at the World Championships, and in 1998 he was selected as the Equipment Manager for the Canadian Olympic Team in Nagano, Japan.

Heisinger is known and respected throughout the hockey world and is renowned for his tireless work ethic and passion for hockey. He and his wife Vickie have four sons: Jake, Mack, Tucher and Zachery.

Mark Chipman serves as the Governor of the Manitoba Moose on the American Hockey League’s Board of Governors, as well as Chairman of the Board for True North Sports & Entertainment Limited.

At the conclusion of the 2004-05 season, Chipman was honoured with the AHL’s  James C. Hendy award as the league’s top executive as he spearheaded the private sector group which oversaw the successful completion and opening in November 2004 of the new downtown state-of-the-art entertainment complex in Winnipeg – the MTS Centre. Last season the Moose ranked second in the regular season and first in the playoffs by drawing over 425,000 fans to the MTS Centre throughout the entire season.

Chipman brought the Manitoba Moose to Winnipeg in the spring of 1996, when the International Hockey League (IHL) announced that a group headed by Chipman had earned the right to bring the Minnesota Moose to Manitoba. Chipman was named the new franchise’s President and Alternate Governor as the Manitoba Moose began playing in the 1996-97 IHL season.

At the end of the 2000-01 season, Chipman represented several former IHL members through negotiations that ultimately lead to the acceptance of six IHL teams into the American Hockey League (AHL). He is a member of the AHL’s executive committee and served as the chairman of the league’s strategic planning committee during the crucial time surrounding the uncertain NHL labour situation. Chipman currently serves as Manitoba’s Governor on the AHL’s Board of Directors.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Chipman attended the University of North Dakota where he lettered in varsity football while earning an Honours B.A. in Economics and a Juris Doctorate Degree in Law. He also holds the position of President of the Winnipeg-based Megill-Stephenson Company.

In addition to his business and hockey interests, Chipman is actively involved in a number of Winnipeg community efforts. Mark and his wife Patti also play major roles in the events of The Manitoba Moose Yearling Foundation, a team charity that has raised over $2.1 million since its inception in October, 1996.

The Chipmans have three daughters: Sarah, Anne, and Mary.

Jim Ludlow serves as the President & Chief Executive Officer of True North Sports & Entertainment Limited. In that capacity, Jim provides strategic, management, and financial leadership to True North and its operating subsidiaries, the MTS Centre, the Manitoba Moose and the New Mooseplex ice facility currently under development.

Jim was instrumental in directing True North through its challenging period of developing and building the MTS Centre. Now in its fifth anniversary year of operation, the MTS Centre has played host to almost 4.8 million fans at over 765 events including Manitoba Moose hockey, the 2005 Juno Awards, the 2006 AHL All-Star Game, the 2007 IIHF World Women's Hockey Championships, the 2008 Canadian Country Music Awards, and various concerts such as Justin Timerlake, Coldplay, The Who, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Cirque du Soleil, Eric Clapton, CSNY, Neil Young and Celine Dion, to name a few. The MTS Centre has consistently been recognized by Pollstar Magazine as one of the Top three busiest venues in Canada and Top 25 in North America and has been the recipient of the Ticketmaster Platinum Award in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In 2008, True North received the 2008 Award of Distinction from Destination Winnipeg and was one of Manitoba's Top 20 Employers in 2008 and 2009. In 2009, the MTS Centre received the Major Facility of the Year Award at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards and the Moose were the AHL's Western Conference Champions.

Prior to coming to True North, Jim was a partner with a senior Western Canadian law-firm, practicing in the areas of corporate finance, mergers, and acquisitions, and – previous to that – the Vice-President of Corporate Development and General Counsel to a leading Canadian venture-capital firm based in Calgary.

Born and raised in Winnipeg, Jim attended the University of Manitoba, earning a B.A., and Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, where he received his law degree.

Jim has four children – Cedric, Charlie, Fiona, and Amanda – and is actively involved in his children’s school, music, soccer, skiing, and gymnastic interests.  In the Winnipeg community, Jim serves as a member of the boards of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, CentreVenture Development Corporation, Winnipeg’s leading downtown development agency, where he is currently Chairman of the Board, and Alpine Canada, where he is also on the Lake Louise World Cup Committee.

A Manitoba native with an extensive coaching background that includes minor hockey in Winnipeg, the WHL's Winnipeg Warriors, and the Winnipeg Jets, Bruce Southern is in his ninth year and fourth stint as Director of Player Personnel with the Manitoba Moose. A key component of Moose Hockey Operations, Southern has also scouted professionally with the Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks, Minnesota Wild, and Detroit Red Wings of the NHL.

Bruce, his wife Susan, daughter Sarah, and son Dirk reside in Winnipeg.