BVTW AA 2024-2025 HEAD COACHES

Head Coach Announcements: 2024-2025 Hockey Season

U16AA Head Coach: Russ Duffee and Brad Kile

Russ Duffee grew up around the game of hockey, first chasing his older brother around the rink and then playing competitively for many years, finishing up in Saskatchewan with stints in various Junior leagues and Senior hockey leagues. As coach’s kid he learned what it took to be a positive influence for the players and developed the ability to emulate the special qualities of each coach he played for. As a goaltender, he learned to see the game from a different perspective and brings this perspective to the rink everyday.

Russ has spent many years in the coaching ranks for CMHA and supporting a spring program out of Calgary. Starting with his son in Initiation, Russ has coached at each age group at some point during his coaching career within CMHA. He has enjoyed successes such as taking the U15-T1 team to the Provincial Finals, to winning the Coach of the Tournament award at the Coca Cola Classic while coaching the U13-T1 team and making many special memories along the way.

His greatest success, however, comes in the relationships he is able to forge with his players. Having spent his entire life around hockey and other team sports and with his experience owning businesses, Russ has learned the value of the Team. His communication style allows him to create a fun, competitive environment while always maintaining his most important pillars of responsibility, accountability, and discipline.

Russ has also spent 4 years as a volunteer at the CMHA Board level. First acting as the Goalie Director, he then moved into the roll of VP Administration. After a year away from CMHA, due to his son Ayden graduating from the AA Timberwolves following a successful 2022/23 U18 season, he is looking forward to being involved in the program once again.

Russ and his wife, Karen, moved to Calgary from Saskatoon in 1996. They have 2 kids, one attending the University of Calgary and one enrolled at the University of Alberta. They become involved in CMHA through their son Ayden who was part of CMHA from Initiation through the end of his minor hockey career.

Coach Brad has been a part of 24 winter seasons of coaching minor hockey in three different associations. He has coached all age groups from U7-U18 and levels AA and rep including Male teams, co-ed teams and also Female teams. Brad Started coaching in the 1996-1997 season after he finished playing junior and has enjoyed coaching more than playing ever since. Throughout his hockey career Brad has completed many roles in minor hockey from player, referee, coach, assistant coach, association board member, league board member and parent. Being involved in hockey for so many years Brad has been a part of many evaluation processes and camp processes at the AAA to initiation level. Brad has operated his own summer and spring sessions since 2010 with several age groups as well as 4 years of formal spring programs with hockey providers in Cochrane and Calgary.

Brad’s foundational saying at work and in life is “Culture Trumps Process” which means you can have the best systems, goals and objectives but if you don’t foster an amazing culture including items like teamwork, selflessness and inclusion you will not be as successful in your endeavor. If you ask Brad how they brought home the first Hockey Alberta Provincial Championship to Cochrane in 26 years a couple years ago he will be the first to confirm it was the team’s culture. The team had an amazing group of players and families but they were likely not the most skilled or best team but every player wanted to make each other better, successful and have fun and they were the best at that. A WIN is “What I Need” from the sport in Brad’s mind. This is very different for each athlete and if you get to the foundations of the term it is surprising how different that is for each player. Brad’s teams have always looked for non-traditional ways to build culture while creating memories and they include volunteering at things like playing board games with seniors, Seniors meals creation, Pink in the Rink Cancer fundraiser, a player/mom Christmas party that is player led and taking teams to fun locations like the US which he has done with four teams and another tournament in Denver is planned for June. Being known for his spreadsheets and data Brad utilizes this information for practice creation, line set up and focused discussions with the players. Brad was fortunate to win the CMHA Rep Coach of the year for the 2021-2022 season.

Brad and his family are originally from the small central Alberta town of Wainwright where a large portion of his family still lives and Brad can be found at his cabin there on a small lake in the summer. Brad has worked in the oil and gas industry for over 25 years and that is what brough their family to Cochrane in 2005. Brad and Joelle have three children; Ansen is a 2005 who played his minor hockey career in Cochrane including three years of AA Havoc/Timberwolves and he is now on a hockey scholarship in Missouri. Auxtyn is a 2009 born player who always has a smile on his face and enjoys hockey, hunting and golf. Braelyn is the youngest and possibly the toughest of the children and she is a 2011 who formerly played hockey but now focuses on swimming.

Brad is looking forward to this season and working with some folks he has coached with and possibly coached in previous years. Brad’s goal is to have an amazing season on and off the ice growing these young adults into amazing community citizens. If you were to ask Brad what the outcome desired is it would be to “attract and retain the communities high performance athletes in a program they can be proud of and maintain in the association."

U18AA Head Coach: Wayne Potter

Wayne has enjoyed over 10+ years of coaching at all different levels throughout Minor Hockey including U15AA, U18AAA, both as an Assistant Coach and a Head Coach, as well as many successful seasons as a U18AA Head Coach with the Calgary Royals prior to transferring over and accepting a new role and a great opportunity with the Calgary NorthStar’s Hockey Association. Wayne also played the great game of Hockey at different levels as well while growing up, and concluding at the Junior level, as well as being fortunate enough to participate in several World Police and Fire Games Competitions held throughout North America during a very rewarding and successful career as a Police Officer. Wayne also has had extensive experience as a Minor Hockey evaluator at all levels throughout the last 10 - 12 years. Wayne was fortunate enough be selected to attend and completed the High Performance 1 Course through Hockey Alberta and was also selected to be a part of the Alberta Cup as an Assistant Coach for Calgary White in the Prospects Cup taking place in Red Deer in May 2024.

Wayne believes the most important aspect of Coaching first and foremost is building relationships with the players and gaining their trust. Helping the players build confidence to be able to perform at the highest level, continue to grow and develop and to have successful careers and opportunities moving forward. Wayne also believes that all players are people first and players second, and that as a Coach you are also there to be able to assist them in life and to teach respect, compassion, and discipline, which he has practiced and preached throughout his professional career and his coaching career. Wayne does not put wins and losses as the most important aspect of the game, but feels getting better every day, trusting the process, and being a good teammate and a good person goes further than the wins and losses. If you are successful in doing that, the process will take care of everything else, if you do everything else right.

Wayne believes if you play the right way, hockey becomes a lot easier. If you practice discipline, play with good habits, these become routine, and that forms your identity both as a player and as a team. Taking shortcuts makes the game a lot tougher, and even harder to have success.

Wayne is currently residing in Cochrane with his family and loves being close to the mountains and residing in a smaller town. After retiring as a Detective from the Calgary Police Service in 2016, Wayne has been employed as an Investigator with the Government of Alberta and is happy that he has a little more time to Coach Hockey, which has become a passion, as has cheering for the Maple Leaf’s. Wayne is looking forward to this amazing opportunity and to continue to challenge elite athletes and to ignite their passion within to achieve their full potential, and to be placed in positions and opportunities where they will enjoy the most success.