CALGARY, Alberta – Four months
after guiding Canada’s National Para Hockey Team to its first gold medal in
seven years at the 2024 World Para Hockey Championship, Hockey Canada has
announced the return of the coaching staff for the 2024-25 season.
Head coach
Russ Herrington (Unionville, ON/ York University, OUA)
returns for his third season behind the bench and will be joined again by
assistant coaches
Mike Fountain (Gravenhurst, ON), Boris Rybalka (Vernon, BC)
and Greg Westlake (Oakville, ON).
“We are excited to have our gold medal winning staff in place for another
season,” said Adam Janssen (Richmond Hill, ON), manager of
hockey operations. “Coming off a tremendously successful year, capped off
with a victory at the world championship in Calgary last spring, we know
having a consistent and experienced staff sets our athletes up for success
heading into a new season.”
The coaching staff was selected by Janssen and
Jesse Albers (Victoria, BC), vice president of operations, in consultation with
Scott Salmond (Creston, BC),
senior vice-president of high performance and hockey operations.
Herrington was named head coach of Canada’s National Para
Hockey Team in August 2022 after parts of seven seasons as an assistant
coach. Since 2015, he has won a total of 10 medals (two gold, eight
silver), including gold at the World Para Hockey Championship in 2017 and
2024. He has also earned silver medals at the 2022 and 2023 Para Hockey Cup
as head coach, as well as the 2023 Para Worlds. Herrington was an assistant
coach at the 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, winning a silver medal. He has
served as the head coach of the York University men’s hockey team since
2017.
Fountain is entering his seventh year with Team Canada,
spending his first five seasons as goaltending consultant, and helping the
team to a silver medal at the 2022 Paralympics. As an assistant coach since
2022, Fountain has a total of five medals (one gold, four silver) in that
span, including gold at the 2024 Para Worlds and silver in 2023. As a
player, Fountain represented Canada twice on the international stage,
including the 1992 IIHF World Junior Championship and 1992 Spengler Cup,
and enjoyed a 17-year professional career that included 11 NHL games.
Rybalka returns as an assistant coach with Canada’s
National Para Hockey Team for a second season after helping it to gold at
Para Worlds. The all-time leader in wins by a coach in Canadian Junior
Hockey League (CJHL) history (683), Rybalka won two gold medals (2006,
2007) and one silver (2008) as head coach of Canada West at the World
Junior A Challenge. The Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) Coach of the
Year in 2003-04, he led the Camrose Kodiaks to five AJHL championships
(2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008) and won the Royal Bank Cup as national
Junior A champions in 2001.
Westlake enters his second season as an assistant coach with
Canada’s National Para Hockey Team, having helped the team to gold at the
2024 Para Worlds. The second all-time leading scorer in Team Canada history
(175-194—369 in 240 games) had a monumental playing career, winning a total
of 12 medals (four gold, five silver, three bronze), including Paralympic
gold in 2006. As an assistant coach, Westlake won gold at the 2024 World
Para Hockey Championship and silver at the 2023 Para Hockey Cup.
Hockey Canada also announced the support staff that will work with Canada’s
National Para Hockey Team throughout the 2024-25 season:
-
Assistant coach, mindset and leadership
Liam Heelis (Georgetown, ON)
-
Equipment managers Grant Boswall (Cornwall, PE) and
AJ Murley (St. John’s, NL)
-
Guest equipment manager
Matina Landstad (West Vancouver, BC/Toronto, PWHL)
-
Athletic therapist Tracy Meloche (Essex, ON)
-
Physiotherapist Michael Lenart (Keswick, ON)
-
Medical IST lead Christine Atkins (Fort Macleod, AB)
- Physical performance lead Bryan Yu (Edmonton, AB)
-
Team physicians Dr. Ben Cameron (Summerside, PE) and
Dr. Danielle Kelton (Guelph, ON)
-
Dietician Kelly Anne Erdman (Edmonton, AB)
- Senior Manager, Hockey Operations Benoit Roy (Sudbury, ON)
- Hockey operations coordinator
Hannah Curlock (Calgary, AB)
- Media relations coordinator
Branden Crowe (Virden, MB)
Following a September evaluation camp, Canada’s National Para Hockey Team
will compete in the International Para Hockey Cup, set for Oct. 7-13 in
Ostrava, Czechia.
For more information on Hockey Canada and Canada’s National Para Hockey,
please visit
HockeyCanada.ca
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