Okotoks parents wrote complaint letter about charged hockey coach

The Okotoks Oilers Athletic Association has provided a parent complaint letter it received last year to an independent third party that’s investigating a former hockey coach who has been has been charged with over 15 offences, many of them sexual in nature, by the Winnipeg Police Service. 

Madison Biluk, 28, of Winnipeg, is facing charges stemming from a sexual relationship with a player between 2019-21 in Manitoba. 

During the 2021-22 season, Biluk was a coach with the Okotoks-based Rocky Mountain Raiders U18 AA team which plays in the Alberta Female Hockey League. 

The OOAA issued a statement on its website on Nov. 14 saying that it’s not aware of any complaints similar in nature to the charges brought against Biluk by the Winnipeg Police in connection with her coaching of the U18 AA Raiders team. 

The association encouraged anyone with concerns about their interactions with Biluk during her time with the OOAA to contact the Okotoks RCMP detachment. 

OOAA president Dan Laplante issued an update on Nov. 21, stating that all information received by the OOAA and the Okotoks Minor Hockey Association regarding Biluk, including a parent complaint letter received after the season in March of 2022, has been submitted to an independent third party that conducts investigations for Hockey Canada. 

The statement said all investigations are strictly confidential, so therefore no further information would be provided at this time.  

The update reiterated the associations’ commitment to fostering an environment that is safe for all participants and once again encouraged anyone with concerns to contact the RCMP. 

Stacey Running Rabbit, a parent of a player on the 2021-22 U18 AA Raiders team, told the Wheel it was a tough season, calling it a “mentally and emotionally taxing” time. 

Running Rabbit was one of at least six parents to put her name to a letter that outlined Biluk’s inappropriate behaviour and lack of professionalism that players had shared or parents had witnessed. 

“I know that there were things that were shared that my daughter had witnessed,” she said. "There was texting going on late night with a couple of the players or there was some FaceTiming going on at strange hours. Like, that's not okay, I don't think.” 

Running Rabbit referenced several concerns she had with Biluk’s behaviour, saying she refused to let her daughter leave a team bonding trip and would often berate players during practice. 

She said by the end of the season there was probably a handful of girls that were going to be leaving the sport because it had been such a traumatic experience for them. 

The Winnipeg Police Service announced Nov. 10 that it had charged Biluk with a host of offences, including sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, possession of child pornography, assault with a weapon and assault.  

Biluk has been released by way of Crown-authorized conditions.