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.
Leveraging a diverse educational background, Larissa Mills is an esteemed Cognitive Behavioural Sports Consultant holding a BA in Sociology, Psychology, and a Masters of Science in Education, specializing in brain functionality and learning mechanisms. With over 30 years of coaching experience across various sports, Larissa’s insights have been honed through a deep understanding of athletic dynamics and behaviour.
Driven by her passion for maximizing athlete potential, Larissa’s journey began with a profound question: why were some athletes falling short of their potential? This inquiry led her to uncover a crucial connection between excessive phone usage, social media engagement, and parenting practices. Recognizing the impact of these factors on psychological development and social skills, Larissa delved further.
The culmination of her expertise and discoveries culminated in the inception of “The Mental Game Academy.” This innovative program, born from Larissa’s unique vantage point, addresses the intricate challenges like excessive phone use and social media posed by contemporary technology and parenting styles. By creating a hybrid educational platform, Larissa’s academy focuses on equipping athletes not only in their chosen sports but also in crucial life skills often overlooked.
Larissa Mills’ dedication to holistic coach and athlete development, informed by her research in phone use and mental skills to change how coaching development can change to meet this digital athlete where they are at. Her programs exemplify her commitment to shaping capable, well-rounded individuals within “The Mental Game Academy.” She is here to change the entire sports ecosystem.
.JPG)
Dan Church was named the head coach of the Lions women’s hockey program in 2004 and is the longest-serving active head coach at York.
2025-26 marks Chruch's 22nd season as bench boss. Church celebrated his 20th season as York women's hockey coach by guiding an upstart group to within one win of the McCaw Cup final and a berth at the national championship. His team upset the vaunted Nipissing Lakers – behind whom the Lions finished by 34 points in the standings – in a stunning two-game sweep in round one. They then took Game 1 of the semi-final series against Waterloo, before ultimately losing the next two games and bowing out to the Warriors in three games. For his efforts, Church was nominated for York coach of the year in 2023-24.
The Lions earned their second straight playoff berth in 2024-25, finishing 5th in the OUA West and beating the Windsor Lancers 5-3 in the OUA's inaugural play-in game.
The 2019-20 season saw York qualify for the U SPORTS national championship for the first time in program history and the McCaw Cup final for the first time under his guidance. He was named York’s coach of the year at the end of the season.
In addition to his work with the Lions, Church is a coach mentor for the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association (OWHA). He also has extensive national and international experience with Canadian women’s teams at a number of different age levels. Most recently, he has been the head coach of the senior national women’s team at the world championships, leading the squad to a gold medal in 2012 with a 5-4 overtime victory over the United States, as well as a silver medal in 2013.
He was also the head coach of the senior women’s national team for the 12 Nations Tournament in Vierumaki, Finland, in August 2011 and the 4 Nations Cup in Sweden. In April 2011 he was an assistant coach with the Canadian senior women’s team that won the silver medal at the world championships in Switzerland.
In 2010, he served as head coach of the Canadian national women’s U18 team that won the gold medal at the world championships, Canada’s first women’s world title in that age group.
In 2009, he served as the head coach of the Canadian team at the 24th FISU Winter Universiade in Harbin, China and led the squad to the gold medal in the inaugural event. He also oversaw a selection camp for the team in the summer of 2008 at York University.
He was also head coach of the Canadian national U22 women’s team. That squad went 7-0 with Church at the helm, sweeping a series against the United States before winning the European Air Canada Cup in Germany. In August of 2006 he served as an assistant coach at Hockey Canada’s U22 national team evaluation camp. That team went on to win a gold medal at the Air Canada Cup in Germany in January 2007.
Church is an NCCP fully certified Level 4 Master Coach and a Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) with Coaching Association of Canada. Before coming to York, he served as an assistant with the University of Toronto women’s hockey program for seven years. During that time, the Varsity Blues won four OUA titles and captured the CIS national championship in 2001.
Church is currently completing his PhD in Coach and Athlete Perspectives of Leadership. He has also completed a Masters of Science in Kinesiology focusing on Sport Psychology and Positive Youth Development.
Mark Howell was appointed the eighth head coach in Dinos Hockey history on June 3, 2009.
Howell joined the Dinos with extensive experience as both a coach and general manager at the junior and midget levels, most recently with the Westside Warriors of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).
Howell played three seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Seattle Thunderbirds and Medicine Hat Tigers before moving to Red Deer College, where he played for Mike Babcock. He spent one season with the University of Alberta Golden Bears, winning the 1992 University Cup title, before injuries forced him to retire.
The Red Deer native began his coaching career at the midget level while working as an officer with the Calgary Police Service, working with the Calgary Buffaloes. He spent two seasons as an assistant with the SAIT Trojans before eventually taking over as head coach of the Calgary Midget ‘AAA’ Flames for the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 seasons. From there he moved to Brandon to become an assistant coach with the WHL’s Wheat Kings for two seasons.
In 2003 Howell moved to Drayton Valley to become head coach and general manager of the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Thunder, where he posted a .625 winning percentage in three seasons. In 2006 he became the first head coach of the Westside Warriors, adding GM duties in 2008. The Warriors posted a franchise-best 40-17-3 (.635) record in the 2007-08 season, reaching the BCHL’s Interior Conference final.
Howell also has experience at the provincial and national team levels, including a stint as head coach of Team Alberta for the 2007 Canada Winter Games, winning a bronze medal. He was an assistant/video coach with the Canadian men’s national team at the 2000 IIHF World Championships, fulfilling the same role for Hockey Canada at three consecutive World Junior Championships in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Howell has twice represented Canada at FISU Winter World University Games, including 2023 when they captured gold in Lake Placid, New York.
In his first season with the Dinos, Howell led them to a 13-9-6 record and a playoff appearance. In 2010-11, the Dinos finished in second place at 17-8-3, hosted the Canada West semi-final for the first time since 1997, and made the program’s first U SPORTS University Cup appearance since 2000. Howell was named the Canada West and U SPORTS coach of the year. Since then, Howell has led the Dinos to five more appearances in the conference final and three trips to the University Cup. In 2023, Howell was again named the conference and national coach of the year and led Calgary to a program-record 25 wins, a CW-record 23 consecutive regular season wins, and the program’s first Canada West championship since 1996.
.jpg)
A former junior hockey player with the Trail Smoke Eaters for 4 seasons, Darren gained an accounting degree at SAIT while continuing his hockey career. Darren moved into coaching minor hockey as soon as he finished his playing career with the SAIT Trojans while working as an accountant for Brewers Distributor Ltd and Shell Canada Ltd.
Darren had immediate success coaching, winning Midget AA provincial title with the Wheatland Chiefs. He then went back to his roots as an assistant coach with SAIT and won two national championships in four years. SAIT's first national championships in over 20 years. Darren then took his winning ways to the Calgary Buffaloes and won provincial and pacific championships and turned the CBHA into a powerhouse of U18 hockey. Once done coaching with the CBHA, Darren focused his hockey within the Hockey Calgary system. Like most parents he coached his daughter and son and held several volunteer positions, including Vice President of Hockey Operations with Mavericks. This is where he honed his coaching skills in Player Development.
This new passion brought new opportunities for Darren. He did some player development work with Hockey Canada which led him to an exciting part-time position with the Calgary Flames in 2016. Each year, his responsibilities grew and rather quickly it moved into a full-time position in 2019. He is now in his 7th year with the Flames full-time and he gets the chance to work with players throughout the organization, from prospects to NHL superstars. Darren currently spends most of his time developing players on the Wranglers and working with the Flames numerous prospects from around the world. Darren is a Hockey Canada Certified Skills Coach and an Advanced Level Coach.
Mount Royal University - Ross Glen Hall
Max Bell Arena and NESS
Cardel Rec South
