From New Brunswick to New York, then back to New Brunswick, it's been a whirlwind year for Danny Flynn.

It was just last summer that Flynn found himself coaching alongside Ted Nolan in the Memorial Cup Final, for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Moncton Wildcats. The Wildcats, who hosted the Canadian Hockey League's championship tournament, lost in the final to the Quebec Remparts, coached by former NHLer Patrick Roy.

However, just a few weeks later, the NHL came calling, as the New York Islanders invited Nolan to take their head coaching position and Nolan invited Flynn to join him as an assistant.

'It was a real long 107-game season in Moncton,' recalled Flynn, in an interview from New Brunswick Tuesday. 'A week or two after, we agreed to terms on a three-year deal with the Islanders.

'My wife and me, my young son, we spent a year in Oyster Bay, New York and had a tremendous experience.'

Still, there was something missing, said Flynn. So when the Wildcats offered him a return ticket to the organization this summer, this time as head coach and director of hockey operations, he had a family meeting and decided it was best to be in Canada.

'To come back to Moncton and take over and run my own program, in such a great city and with such a great franchise, is something that caught my attention.

'Hockey-wise for me, it's a chance to really put my fingerprints on the makeup of the team. Assistant coach is an entry level job in the NHL and you have very little input in the makeup of the team. I missed that.'

While the move certainly means Flynn will take a pay cut, it's also good for his family, as Flynn's wife Elaine can go back to work she couldn't work in New York because she's not a U.S. citizen and his son can go back into French immersion at school.

The Islanders, said Flynn, understood where he was coming from and agreed to let him out of the remaining two years on his contract. As for Nolan, he was completely supportive.

Flynn has been a mainstay on Nolan's coaching staff, going back to their days with the Sault. Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the early 1990s. Together, Nolan and Flynn won three straight OHL championships and a Memorial Cup title with the Greyhounds.

'The Wildcats actually called Ted to get permission to talk to me, because I was still under contract. He actually encouraged me to do it.'

Nolan, said Flynn, understands that it's a great opportunity with one of the 'marquee junior hockey franchises in the country'. The Wildcats have had the best winning percentage of any Canadian junior team over the last five years.

Flynn stayed on with the Islanders until July 1, helping them organize their rookie camp.

'I still think I'll keep a pretty good pulse on what's happening on Long Island. I left with their blessing and on good terms. I wish them nothing but the best.'

Now, the 20-year coaching veteran, who also led the St. Francis Xavier men's hockey team to a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championships in 2004, is jumping right into work for the Wildcats at a prospects camp in Fredericton, N.B. this week.

Later on this month, he'll take a bit of a break to attend the annual Summit Hockey School in Whitehorse. It's his fourth year helping with the camp, after getting recruited by organizer Greg Hagar. Hagar was on Flynn's staff at St. FX for five years.

'I know how hard (Hagar) works to put the camp together and how committed he is to put on a good program. So hopefully the people of Whitehorse appreciate that.

'He goes the extra mile to try to put together as good a program as he can, and as solid a staff as he can, given the fact that he's got to bring a lot of people in from significant distances.'

It's for that reason Flynn continues to travel to Whitehorse, as well as the fact he always has a good time in the Yukon capital.

'I really enjoy the area. The people are wonderful, they love the game. Your facility is among the best in Canada right now, with the Canada Games Centre.

'It's a chance to catch up with some old friends, a chance to contribute to the hockey fabric of Whitehorse, and I know that top-flight instruction is sometimes tough to get.'

Nolan will also be back in the Yukon this year as an instructor for the school.

The Summit Hockey School is a five-day camp for players ages seven to 17, of all skill levels. There are on-ice and off-ice training sessions, as well as team-building activities.

'We spend a lot of time on power skating and puck skills, especially with the younger players,' said Flynn. 'That's the foundation upon which somebody will build the house.'

The instructors also do a lot of station and small group work, while encouraging a fun atmosphere.

'We try and send them away a little bit better player than when they arrived, but also make it a fun and enjoyable experience on the ice, and help them build friendships off the ice as well.'

Flynn said the instructors are on the ice for about 12 to 14 hours per day during the camp, and are available to talk to parents if they have any questions or want to ask about the best hockey options for their kid.

Over the last few years, Flynn said, he's watched the local hockey players improve greatly, something which is evident when you consider the fact there are five or six of them heading to junior hockey camps at the end of this summer, as well as several more already playing junior or university hockey.

And while Team Yukon didn't win medals in hockey at the recent Canada Winter Games, Flynn said they showed the rest of the country the territory is on the rise in the sport. It's possible Flynn may end up coaching a Yukoner at the junior level in the near future.

'I had the chance to work with some members of the Canada Games team at the camp last year and I know how important the Games were to them. All things considered, they should be proud of their showing.

'I think the scouts had a good chance to use the Canada Games as a measuring stick, and they saw there are some kids in the Yukon who can play with the best in the country.'

Unfortunately, Flynn didn't get a chance to watch any of the hockey action at the Games live, as he wasn't exactly living in a hockey hotbed.

'We suffered from no Tim Hortons this winter, no Hockey Night in Canada and no TSN,' he laughed. 'So my Canada Games coverage, and all sports, was limited to the internet.'

Well there'll certainly be no shortage of coverage now that Flynn is back on home soil, and there'll be no shortage of action on the ice at the Summit school in Whitehorse.

Registration for the school, which runs July 23-27, is now underway. This year, participants can pay one third of the full price $500 plus GST when they register and the rest by the end of September. For more information, visit the website, www.yukonhockeyschool.ca, or e-mail Hagar at: info@yukonhockeyschool.ca.