Flagstaff Youth Hockey Association (FYHA) president Kevin Tye has reason to say his association is “really excited.”

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A recent tournament championship, a soon-to-be-named hockey director and a full slate of spring and summer programs will have that effect on someone.

While not 100 percent official, Tye said the Northstars’ impending hockey director has an extensive playing and coaching background and “will bring some continuity to Flagstaff.”

“Our hockey director will be able to work with all of our coaches and with kids from 4-17 on such things like skating technique and cross-ice games with the American Development Model (ADM),” said Tye. “They are also a big believer in the Long Term Athlete Development model, which goes hand in hand with the ADM. Having a full-time hockey director is a major point of progress for us and we have already secured a sponsorship to help with this position.

“Top to bottom, our hockey director will be able to have an impact on the program from the youngest kids to our 18U group. This is just some great news for the program and I can’t wait to be able to make the announcement in the coming weeks.”

Starting this spring, FYHA will also host several hockey camps, including Northwestern Hockey and Rocky Mountain Hockey Schools.

“We will also have cross-ice games going on and stick time,” Tye said. “We’ll certainly have lots of opportunities for these kids to continue to grow and this will go straight through the summer.”

In recent FYHA news, the Northstars’ 12U team (pictured) captured the 12U B division title last month at the Arizona Hockey Union-hosted Presidents’ Day Invitational, which was held at several rinks in and around the Phoenix area over Presidents’ Day Weekend.

The Northstars outscored their opponents 26-7 and upended the host AHU in the championship game by a 4-3 count.

— Matt Mackinder