Hobbins heads home for assistant coaching job

Tyson Hobbins, who skated parts of the past two seasons with the Idaho Steelheads, has been hired as an assistant coach by the Nipawin Hawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. Nipawin, a city of over 5,000 people, is Hobbins? home town. It is located due north of Regina, SK, near the Prince Albert National Forest. Regina is approximately 110 miles north of the US border near the Montana/North Dakota state line. Hobbins, who turns 25 at the end of July, also played junior hockey for the Hawks from 2004 to 2007. He played on the same line as his Steelhead teammate Cody Purves in Nipawin and was coached by former Steelhead head man Hardy Sauter. ?I?ve always wanted to be a coach so this is a good place for me to start ? here in Nipawin,? Hobbins told the Nipawin Journal newspaper. He played in a total of 36 games for Idaho after concluding his college career at Lake Superior State, signing with the Steelheads at the end of the 2010-11 campaign. He netted a pair of goals, including a playoff game-winner against Las Vegas in 2011, before a knee injury ended his season in February.