3
Nov
Coach Leadership Day
Mount Royal University - Ross Glen Hall
THE 2025 COACH LEADERSHIP DAY WILL BE HELD ON NOVEMBER 3 @ MOUNT ROYAL UNIVERSITY
Hockey Inspires Leadership Day is an initiative put on by Hockey Calgary in conjunction with the Flames Foundation, Calgary Sport and Entertainment Corporation, and the Coaches Site. Historically, the event brought together 1000 players for a 1-day conference with guest speakers, mentors, and high energy activities focused on the development of leadership.
On November 3rd, coaches are invited to take part in the 4th Annual Leadership Day – Coach Edition. The engaging event will deliver a wide variety of on and off ice topics to give coaches some actionable strategies that they can use to ensure their sport is providing kids a supportive runway for the rest of their lives. Ultimately, we believe coaches have an opportunity to instill the right values in their players by building a foundation for fun, development, competition, connection, and growth of Calgary’s future community leaders.
DATE | Monday, November 3
LOCATION | Ross Glen Hall - Mount Royal University
TIME | 5:00PM to 9:00PM
REGISTRATION | REGISTER NOW
COST | $15 + GST (some associations are covering this fee - you will see a discount option during registration)
Ryan Huska was named the franchise's 24th head coach on June 12, 2024. He had been an assistant coach with the Flames since 2018. Prior to coming to Calgary, Huska spent four seasons as head coach of the Flames' affiliate team in the American Hockey League, the Stockon/Adirondack Heat.
Huska started his coaching career in 2002 as an assistant coach with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, and was appointed as the club's head coach in 2007. Two years after being appointed, Huska led the Rockets to the Ed Chynoweth as league champions and advanced to the Memorial Cup, falling to the Windsor Spitfires in the final. The Cranbrook, B.C. native spent seven years as the Rockets bench boss and finished his junior coaching career with an overall record 303-164-37 before moving onto the bench boss of the Flames affiliate. In four years with the Heat, Huska ended with a 135-118-27 record.
The 42-year-old was drafted in the third round 76th overall in the 1993 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks and made his NHL debut on May 1 1995 against the Flames. Huska spent his junior career with the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL, winning three Memorial Cups in 1992, 1994 and 1995.
Jon Cornish is a Canadian former professional running back who played nine seasons with the Calgary Stampeders. He was recongized as the CFL's Most Outstanding Player in 2013 and won three consecutive Most Outstanding Canadian Awards from 2012 to 2014. In 2013 Jon was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's top athlete. During his time with the Stampeders he set and holds numerous rushing records, including breaking the single season rushing record with 1813 yards for Canadians that stood for 56 years. He was a member of the 2008 and 2014 Grey Cup champion teams. He ranks fourth all time in rushing yards for the Stampeders with 6,844. His amazing career was recognized in 2018 when the award for the top Canadian in NCAA division one football was renamed to the Jon Cornish Trophy. Jon was inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame in 2019.
Kori Cheverie is the current head coach for the Montreal Victorie of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). She is also the assistant coach of the Canadian national women’s hockey team since 2021.
She was an assistant coach for 7 seasons with the TMU Bold men’s hockey team formerly the (Ryerson Rams. She was the first woman to be hired to a full-time coaching role in U Sports men’s ice hockey history.
Prior to her coaching journey, she played for the Saint Mary’s Huskies women’s ice hockey team in the Atlantic University Sport conference in U Sports and with the Toronto Furies of the Canadian Women’s hockey league for 6 seasons, where she won the 2014 Clarkson Cup.
Patrick Wiercioch is a retired professional hockey player who played in the NHL for the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche. Drafted 42nd overall by the Senators in 2008, Patrick made his NHL debut in 2010. He continued playing with the Senators until 2016. He would then sign with the Avalanche and play one season with them. After this Patrick went overseas to continue his professional career. He would play an additional 3 seasons in Russia, Austria and Sweden.
Throughout his career, Wiercioch was also selected to represent Canada at the IIHF World Championships in 2015, helping the team to their first gold medal at the tournament since 2007. Patrick is a current Hockey Canada certified skills coach based out of Kelowna, BC. He has past coaching experience with the Rink Kelowna program.
Bert Gilling began his hockey journey in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League where he played for the Estevan Bruins. The Alexander, Man. native then played NCAA hockey with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs, where he was named captain in his final season. Gilling's excellence always went beyond the ice. He was a nominee for the College Hockey Humanitarian Award and WCHA Student-Athlete of the Year and was named Rasmussen Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year at Duluth. Additionally, Gilling was a three-time Academic All-WCHA honoree, a member of the Dean’s List and received the Top Scholastic Player award from his junior club in 1993.
He graduated from the University of Minnesota-Duluth with a Bachelor of Arts and then moved to Bemidji State University to complete his Masters in Sports Studies. At Bemidji State he served as the men's hockey assistant coach and academic advisor and in 2014 he joined Mount Royal as the men's hockey head coach. Gilling established a new culture around the team and in his first season, he led the Cougars to their first-ever playoff victory over the Saskatchewan Huskies. He has since won Canada West Coach of the Year two times.
Recently, Gilling was named and competed at the 2021 U SPORTS All-Star Series Event where he led a team of Alberta based post-secondary students against the Canadian World Junior trial teams.
Growing up in BC’s Creston Valley, Cami Kepke was introduced to the world of broadcasting as a teenage play-by-play announcer for the local junior ‘B’ hockey team. She graduated with honours from the Broadcast News Program at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2015. Kepke’s career began in Northern BC as a radio reporter and team host for the Prince George Cougars, before crossing the country to join CTV Atlantic. With a passion for telling unique news and sports stories, she won an RTDNA for Sports Feature Reporting in 2017. She joined the Global Regina team as a Digital Broadcast Journalist/Anchor in the spring of 2018 and Global Calgary in 2019. Kepke has appeared on hockey broadcasts in more than 10 different leagues and worked with several of Canada’s National Teams. She’s happiest when she’s climbing a mountain, nailing a takeout in curling, or covering rock classics on bass. She is currently the Manager of Content and Communications for the WHL.
Mount Royal University - Ross Glen Hall
Max Bell Arena and NESS
Cardel Rec South
