CONTACT
Canmore Eagles Junior Hockey Club
P.O Box 8131
Canmore, Alberta
T1W 2T9
Office: 403.678.1855
Fax: 403-678-0057
Email: info@canmoreeagles.com
General Inquiries-
Canmore Eagles Office
403.678.1855
info@canmoreeagles.com
Hockey / Business Operations-
Andrew Milne
Head Coach / General Manager
andrewmilne@canmoreeagles.com
Sales and Ticketing Exceutive
Lori Mayson
marketing@canmoreeagles.com
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Community Outreach,Events and Game Day Coordinator
info@canmoreeagles.com
HISTORY
The Eagles franchise was established in 1994 as the Bow Valley Eagles. The franchise then renamed itself the Canmore Eagles prior to the 2001-02 hockey season. The Eagles have always been a community owned, not for profit hockey club competing in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
The Beginning
In July of 1993, local Canmore businessmen Ken Pauls Sr, Fred Horbey, and John Straw formed the “Bow Valley Rockies Junior A Hockey Club”. The trio was awarded a conditional franchise by the AJHL, by June the following summer the team decided to be named the ‘Eagles’ and to start play in the Alberta Junior Hockey League in September of 1994.
Living in Canmore, Alberta – Home of the Eagles
Canmore is a small, mountain town of just 12,000 permanent residents and is located just outside the boundary of beautiful Banff National Park – a one hour drive west from Calgary. The town is located at an elevation of over 1,300 metres (4,296 feet) and is surrounded by spectacular mountain peaks reaching 2,936 metres (9,633feet). Canmore has an energetic, diverse and well-educated population that values a vigorous, outdoor adventure lifestyle. Tourism, Lifestyle, Health and Wellness form the economic backbone of the community. Canmore is the ideal community to further your hockey career and education as one of the most beautiful places on earth!
CANMORE COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL – The modern Canmore Collegiate High School is located next to the Canmore Rec. The Eagles are pleased to have Deb Sellers as our high school/education consultant as she does an excellent job of keeping Eagle students focused on the task at hand.
EXCEPTIONAL TRAINING / LIFE SKILL OPPORTUNITIES – When you play for the Canmore Eagles, you will have the unique opportunity to train in world class facilities as well as enjoy what the community has to offer. Visiting the Canmore Nordic Center (host of the 1988 Winter Olympic), mountain biking the Goat Creek Trail to Banff (30 km), or hiking Ha Ling Peak are all apart of the Canmore Eagles program. No other junior hockey program in the country can offer the special experiences that the Eagles provide their players. This is what seperates us from the rest of the AJHL.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT – When Eagle players aren’t playing or practicing at the rink or attending classes, players are expected to contribute and be good-will ambassadors to the Canmore community. All Eagle players actively participate in numerous charity events, food bank drives, winter carnivals, delivering X-mas trees, and helping Canmore minor hockey players in coaching and evaluation. Canmore is a very small town and players are treated very well within the community, players are asked to give back to their supporters.
Hockey Operations
Head Coach / General Manager: Andrew Milne
Milne has been with the Canmore Eagles since the end of the 2007-2008 season as Head Coach/General Manager. Milne, a graduate of the University of Alberta with a Sports Management Degree, is no stranger to the Alberta Junior Hockey League. As a player, Milne won a league championship with the St. Albert Saints in the 1995-1996 season. He was also an Assistant Coach for St. Albert/Spruce Grove Saints for three seasons. A graduate of the St. Albert Minor Hockey Program, Milne played the better part of three seasons in the Western Hockey League for the Spokane Chiefs, Medicine Hat Tigers and Swift Current Broncos. After one season of Professional Hockey, Milne got involved in full-time coaching with the Swift Current Broncos and the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL.
Milne brings a wealth of knowledge and experience with a modern-day perspective, has been pleased with the direction his staff has pointed the hockey program and looks forward to achieving more of the goals which have been set for the organization. Andrew, along with his wife Erin and sons Easton and Sawyer and daughter Ellery have made the Bow Valley their home, and feel extremely lucky to be part of such a world-class location and a spectacular community.
“I would like to thank the Community, Volunteers, Fans, and Board of Directors for their continued support. The combined efforts of all of these people are the sole reason for our success to date. Thank you to you all.”
To contact Andrew Milne – andrewmilne@canmoreeagles.com
Assistant Coach / Assistant General: Bryan Arneson
Arneson is a native of Sherwood Park, who played for the Eagles from 2012-2014 and rejoins the organization after concluding his playing career that included stops with the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders ECHL affiliates (Wheeling Nailers & Worcester Railers) as well as the SPHL while completing 5 years at MacEwan University as a student-athlete with a Bachelor of Commerce degree.
Arneson brings a winning mindset being a part of two of the three consecutive championships won at MacEwan University that accompany his 21 years of playing experiences and continuous interest in learning from hockey minds at the highest level which he will try to pass on to players at the junior level as they navigate their own career paths.
“Canmore became like a home away from home to me after playing in the Bow Valley and I’ve continued to grow those relationships from 7 years ago when I concluded my junior career. I’m excited to be back in a place that gave me so much and I cannot wait to try and win a championship for this team and community.”
To contact Bryan – bryan@canmoreeagles.com
Assistant Coach: Ben Assad
Assad joins the Eagles at the conclusion of his playing career with stops in the AJHL, U SPORTS, and the SPHL. A native of Calgary, Alberta, Assad grew up playing for the Calgary Buffaloes before graduating to the AJHL where he played parts of five seasons. Assad saw most of his success in the AJHL come in his final two years with the Calgary Canucks where he was team captain and lead the Canucks to their best season in nearly 20 years in 2016-2017. After his time the the AJHL, Assad made the move to Windsor, Ontario where he played at the USPORTS level for the University of Windsor Lancers. Assad captained the Lancers for three years, was a two time Academic All-Canadian and would graduate with a Human Kinetics Degree with Sport Management. After graduating, Assad played parts of two seasons in the SPHL for the Peoria Rivermen and the Quad City Storm where he was named the Rivermen’s 2022-2023 Unsung Hero. Assad is no stranger to coaching elite level hockey players spending the past four off seasons coaching high end hockey players at Crash Conditioning in Calgary and the PowerTech Hockey Group in Windsor where he was involved in on and off-ice development and became very passionate in helping others
succeed.
“From my first visit in Canmore with Andrew, Bryan, and Darryl I knew right away that I wanted to be apart of the Eagles Organization. I could not be more excited for the opportunity to join the Eagles coaching staff, meet the players and do my part to help bring a championship to the Bow Valley.”
Director of Skill Development/Assistant Coach: Kyle McLaughlin
McLaughlin was hired prior to the 2020 season. McLaughlin, is a former NCAA Division 1 player and captain for St. Cloud State University (1995-99) and Academic All-American (1999) who grew up playing minor hockey in Nepean, Ontario, and played for his hometown Nepean Raiders Jr A team. McLaughlin showed a passion for coaching early and started coaching at the age of 15. Over the past 10
years he has focused on coaching local minor hockey programs in the Canmore Minor Hockey Association and Bow Valley Timberwolves U-13 AA team, having won both league and provincial championships. He has also coached at the AAA provincial level during the spring seasons. In 2018 his coaching was recognized by Hockey Alberta being named Hockey Alberta’s Coach of the Year.
In 2014, McLaughlin founded the hockey skills and development company “Underground Hockey” and continues to run camps and private sessions for players of all ages- from minor hockey to junior to NCAA to pro. Through his work in Underground Hockey, he was named a True Hockey Coach Ambassador in 2018 and has had the opportunity to work alongside many of the NHL’s top skills coaches.
McLaughlin has lived in Canmore since 2007 with his wife Carrie and 2 sons. When he’s not on the ice, he works as an Emergency Medicine Physician in the Canmore Hospital and is on the medical staff for the Calgary Flames.?
To contact Kyle McLaughlin: kyle@canmoreeagles.com
Athletic Therapist : Dave Rowe
Vice President of Operations: Will Heseltine
Will returns to the Canmore Eagles as Vice President of Operations for the club. Will, who previously worked for the team as the club’s Coordinator of Analytics and Hockey Research during the 2018-2019 season, is a practicing lawyer and a
member of the Ontario Law Society. He graduated from the historic Trinity College Dublin in Ireland in 2018 and went on to receive his Masters in International Sports Law from the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía in Madrid, Spain in 2020.
Born and raised in Calgary, Heseltine was a goalie, spending time in the Calgary Royals minor hockey organization before stops in the systems of both the Red Deer Rebels and Calgary Mustangs. Heseltine is excited to use his professional education and on-ice experience to augment a very promising young team looking to take the organization to the next level.
To Contact Will Heseltine- will@canmoreeagles.com
Athlete Well-being & Performance: Steve Sellers
For over 30 years Steve has provided emotional and spiritual support for high-level athletes. He has experience working with USA University athletes, Olympic and National team athletes and many others. Steve has competed at the highest level in two different skiing disciplines for two different nations (USA & Canada in xc skiing and ski mountaineering racing). He’s coached at two Olympics, various world championships and also provided athlete chaplaincy services at Olympics, World Cups and World championships. Steve is a skilled mentor, and speaker and has tremendous insights into high-level training and competition.
Will returns to the Canmore Eagles as Vice President of Operations for the club. Will, who previously worked for the team as the club’s Coordinator of Analytics and Hockey Research during the 2018-2019 season, is a practicing lawyer and a member of the Ontario Law Society. He graduated from the historic Trinity College Dublin in Ireland in 2018 and went on to receive his Masters in International Sports Law from the Instituto Superior de Derecho y Economía in Madrid, Spain in 2020.
Born and raised in Calgary, Heseltine was a goalie, spending time in the Calgary Royals minor hockey organization before stints in the systems of both the Red Deer Rebels and Calgary Mustangs. Heseltine is excited to use his professional education and on ice experience to augment a very promising young team looking to take the organization to the next level.
“Hard to think of a better place to live and work than the Bow Valley. I’m thrilled for the opportunity to learn from and contribute to the Eagles’ organization and I can’t wait to get going.”
Medical / Training Staff
Team Doctor: Dr. Michael Quinlan
Team Dentist: Dr. Jon Bagley – Canmore Downtown Dental
Scouting Staff
Director of Scouting: Darryl Robinson
Darryl has been involved in hockey for over 30 years holding various roles. Prior to joining the Eagles in the 2020 season, Robinson was a member of the Grande Prairie Storm organization, and most notably held the Director of Scouting position with the former Calgary Mustangs.
To contact Darryl: ddrobin1962@gmail.com or call 403.519.2541
Area Scout: Rich Shellian
Area Scout: Mason Hawkes
Area Scout: Mike McGinnis
Area Scout: John Stehr
Area Scout: Jamie Taylor
Area Scout: Kurtis Jones
Area Scout: Tyler Durant
Area Scout: Josh Wilhelm
Area Scout: Jason Bartram
Area Scout: Eric Bay
Area Scout: Jack Goodman
Team Executive / Management
Team President: Darryl Lockwood
Darryl Lockwood is now entering his 13th year as the President of the Canmore Eagles Junior Hockey Club. Darryl was raised in Canmore and currently co-owns the Lockwood Autobody shop with his brother Terry. The Lockwood Autobody shop has been a family run business operating in Canmore for more than 34 years.
A longtime hockey fan and current oldtimer player himself, Darryl (and Terry) helped to support the group that helped bring a Junior A hockey team to Canmore back in 1995. “It’s just a passion for me,” admits Lockwood, who puts in tireless volunteer hours to help fund-raise and promote the team within Canmore. “. I obviously enjoy watching Junior A hockey and when our players succeed and get offered a scholarship at a university or college level, I am tremendously proud of our organization and happy for the individual.”
Prior to becoming Club President, Darryl served on the team’s volunteer Board of Directors and for many years. On Eagle game nights, you can usually find Darryl volunteering at the bar upstairs at the Eagle’s Nest Lounge, selling game tickets, or just about anything us that needs to be attended to.
Darryl and his wife Vicki along with their two daughters, April and Joanne have also billeted several Canmore Eagle players for many years and a couple of their billets have moved on to make Canmore their permanent full-time residence – something that the Lockwoods are very proud of.
Sponsorship Sales and Ticketing
– marketing@canmoreeagles.com or 403 688 7070
Events and Game Day Coordinator
Robin Aitken- info@canmoreeagles.com or 403-707-8114
