By WJBC Staff

BLOOMINGTON – The United States Hockey League has announced Central Illinois Flying Aces head coach and general manager Mike Watt has been added to the coaching staff for next week’s USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.

Watt becomes the third representative for the Flying Aces at the prestigious NHL Draft event, joining Central Illinois defenseman Mike Callahan and goaltender Zach Stejskal.

In his first season as head coach and general manager, Watt is the first coach in team history to serve on the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game coaching staff, including the three seasons the team was known as the Bloomington Thunder. Watt will serve as an assistant coach for Team East and will coach both Callahan and Stejskal.

A native of Seaforth, Ontario, Watt is in his third season with the organization and spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach for the team when it was known as the Bloomington Thunder. In his first season with the team in 2015-16, Watt played a key role in guiding the Thunder to their first-ever USHL Clark Cup Playoffs appearance. That same season, Watt helped mentor the team’s first two NHL Draft picks, Mitchell Mattson and Jeremy Davies. Both Davies and Mattson were selected at the 2016 NHL Draft.

In addition to his coaching resume, Watt also has NCAA Division I and NHL playing experience. After a three-year career with Michigan State, Watt played 10 seasons professionally, including five seasons in the NHL.

2018 marks the sixth time, and fourth consecutive year, that the USHL will be hosting the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. The USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game features the top NHL Draft-eligible players throughout the league in preparations for the 2018 NHL Draft. The 2018 NHL Draft will be held June 22-23 in Dallas, Texas at the American Airlines Center, home of the Dallas Stars.

Central Illinois heads on the road this weekend for a pair of games before next week’s USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game, which will take place on Jan. 9 in Kearney, Neb. at the Viaero Center, the home of the USHL’s Tri-City Storm. The Flying Aces face Green Bay on Friday night in Green Bay before traveling to Waterloo, Iowa, on Saturday for a matchup against the Waterloo Black Hawks.

Corcoran promoted

The Flying Aces have elevated Dan Corcoran to the role of Operating Officer for the team and have appointed Michelle Wakeman to Executive Assistant of Front Office Operations.

Corcoran started with the organization in August of 2016 as the Director of Media Relations and Broadcasting. While with the team, he has overseen all of the communications efforts, which included the media relations and social media surrounding the rebrand to the Flying Aces identity this past August, among an array of other duties. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Corcoran holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with an emphasis in strategic communication. The Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, native worked with the NCAA Division I men’s hockey program at UW-Madison prior to his time in Bloomington. He also spent three seasons as the Media Relations and Broadcasting Coordinator for the Willmar Stingers, a summer collegiate baseball team based in Willmar, Minnesota.

Prior to her promotion, Wakeman served as the Billet Coordinator for the fourth-year USHL team. Wakeman will help manage the team’s finances in addition to serving as the manager for the Flying Aces official team store, The Hangar. Along with her duties in her new role, Wakeman will continue to serve as Billet Coordinator for the Flying Aces.

Brendan Kelly has resigned his position with the team to pursue other opportunities.

After two games on the road this weekend, the Flying Aces return home for a pair of promotion-packed weekends in mid-January. That stretch starts with a two-game series against Team USA (U17) on Jan. 12-13. On Saturday, Jan. 13, the Flying Aces will have Youth Jersey Giveaway Night, as the first 500 kids 12 and younger will receive a replica Flying Aces jersey courtesy of Aloha Construction and Parkway Auto Laundry. Then on Friday, Jan. 19, Central Illinois hosts the Sioux Falls Stampede for Ag Night, featuring a cowbell giveaway for the first 500 fans. Click here for the full promotional schedule.