Skill Development Program Staff
Lead Coaches
Milan Dragicevic - Senior Coach and Program Lead
As a player, Milan spent four seasons in the WHL, first with the Regina Pats, then with the New Westminster Bruins and Tri-City Americans before landing with the Spokane Chiefs and Victoria Cougars. In total, he played 240 regular-season games in the WHL. Milan also played 4 years in the CIS with the Acadia Axemen, winning the National Championship in 1993. He was also a member of Canada’s under-17 World Championship Team that won bronze in 1999.
Milan's coaching career began in 1995 as an assistant for the Tri City Americans, then as Head Coach of the AJHL Drayton Valley Thunder of the AJHL from 1997-99,where he was named Coach of the Year in 1999.
He was the first Head Coach of the WHL’s Vancouver Giants in 2000, spending 2 seasons with the Giants.
In 2002. Milan was named Head Coach of the UBC Thunderbirds Men's team. Under his leadership, the team qualified for the playoffs in 6 straight seasons.
Milan also served as Head Coach of Canada’s 2009 FISU Games team that brought home a silver medal from the Winter Universiade in Harbin, China.
For the past seven seasons, Milan has been Richmond Ravens Minor Hockey Association's Director of Skills. For the last four seasons, he has also been Richmond Minor Hockey Association's Director of Hockey Operations.
For the 2018/19 season, Milan will coach the Delta Wild Bantam Prep team and the Richmond Ravens' Bantam A1 team.
Mats Lindgren - Coach and Development Lead
Mats Lindgren is deeply rooted in teaching the fundamentals of specific hockey techniques and player development philosophies that have been successful in Sweden for decades.
Mats is a two-time world junior champion, former NHL player of 10 seasons, 1998 Olympian, and Swedish Hockey League (SHL) coach of 7 seasons.
Mats is a proven and passionate teacher of the game of hockey. Decades of exposure to North American and Swedish Ice Hockey training and coaching methods has enabled Mats to develop an enhanced puck possession brand of hockey for both minor hockey coaches and players.
The Lindgren curriculum is an elite hockey system development program. It focuses on the importance of detail and proper technique in all areas of the game, including individual and team tactics which help players develop the confidence to succeed at all levels of hockey.
Mats will focus on the successful criteria necessary to build successful players, teams, coaches and associations. We feel we are effective in producing results for development of all ages and levels because we implement skill specific training techniques and philosophies used by many junior and pro players today. Our approach to development provides challenging and fun experiences that can be easily integrated into regular practices and skill development clinics put on throughout the season by Richmond Jets Hockey Association.
Glenn Wheeler - Initiation Program Lead
Born in Montreal, Coach Glenn's minor hockey was spent playing between Quebec and Ontario. As a player, Glenn won numerous titles playing for North Shore Hockey Club based out of Pierrefonds, Quebec and as a player for the Burlington Jr. Cougars in Burlington, Ontario. Upon completing his minor hockey, Coach Glenn attended and played hockey and football for John Abbott College in Montreal
After graduating, Coach Glenn was offered a scholarship to play for St. Lawrence University. While at SLU, Glenn had the good fortune to be coached by two-time NCAA Division 1 and two-time ECAC Coach of the Year, Joe Marsh. Coach Glenn completed his career playing Junior Hockey for Belleville.
A nationally certified coach with over twenty years of experience as a power skating and stick handling technician, Glenn has worked with some of the top instructors such as Sean Skinner, Tim Turk and Seage Belliveau (Montreal Canadiens Hockey School as Head Instructor). After moving out West, Glenn started coaching at Seafair Minor Hockey Association in 1997. In his thirteen years at Seafair, Coach Glenn won multiple provincial titles and coached a group of 1996 born players to many championships, including a trip to the World Championships in Quebec City.
Glenn is the owner and Head Instructor for Pacific Elite Hockey School. He was Seafair Minor Hockey Association's Coach of the Year (twice), Head Coach of City of Richmond's Team of the Year (three times) and has twice won BC Hockey Provincial championships.
Instructors
Ryan Campbell - Skill Development Instructor
Ryan started playing hockey at age 4 in Burnaby, BC. He played Burnaby Minor Hockey until Hockey 3, after which he moved to Burnaby Winter Club (BWC)
Ryan played on BWC’s Atom A1 and Peewee A1 teams, winning a total of four Tier 1 Division Championship Banners and a Provincial Championship.
He played on the Atom Bell Capital Cup Championship team, participated in the prestigious Quebec Peewee International Tournament and represented Canada at the Nations Cup Tournament. Ryan moved to Coquitlam Minor Hockey for his Bantam and Midget years and played his Spring hockey for Vancouver Vipers.
Ryan’s first Head Coach role was at West Van Minor Hockey with their Atom A1 Rep team and guided them to an Atom Championship Banner. Most recently he has been running Power Skating sessions with Richmond Minor Hockey Association.
Ryan’s outstanding speed & skating skills are immediately noticeable. He has been working at Two Way Hockey for the past 10 years, setting a standard for other young players to attain through hard work and commitment to their own development.
Victor Kraatz - Power Skating
A 3 time Olympian, World Champion, Victor Kraatz is a hockey-specific skating instructor. He is level 3 certified by the Canadian National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP 3) a Skate Canada certified CanPowerSkate
Victor teaches advanced stride mechanics with a focus on technique and body composition. Victor’s classes are taught with specific game situations in mind; this means that the movements and skills taught are directly transferable to in-game scenarios. Skating is the most important tool a hockey player has. That’s why Victor’s comprehensive skating program is built to add power and velocity to each player’s specific skating style.
Nate Leslie - Small area games development
Leslie Global Sports is a Vancouver based hockey development company owned and operated by former professional hockey player, Nate Leslie M.Ed. Nate enlists a small group of very competent skill development experts to deliver world class, innovative, and child centered hockey development programs. We focus on integrated coach and player development so that your whole association develops along with your individual players. We have a partnership at the Richmond Olympic Oval as the coaching team to deliver the High Performance Hockey Program, and work with players from H1 to College level.
Our niche is delivering high quality instruction to players while educating volunteer coaches. We thrive in a setting with a high volume of players, coaches, goalies, and goalie coaching working together. We often run sessions with 36 skaters, as many as 14 volunteer coaches, 4 nets, 8 goalies, a goalie coach, and 2 of our professional coaches.
Shawn McQuistin - Skill Development Instructor
I grew up playing my minor hockey in Richmond and have been coaching for the past 6 years with Seafair. I have coached various levels from Atom to Bantam at both the recreational and rep level. I also have been running Seafair's Hockey 1 program. This past year I was awarded coach of the year from Hockey Now and The Coach Site. I got into coaching and skill development because I have a tremendous love for the game, I love being able to give back; especially to the same community I grew up in. I like getting involved at the intro to hockey level as it allows me to help grow the game at a very young age. Creating a community like atmosphere that is welcoming and inviting to all, this is a big part of what I believe in and feel is important in hockey.
Goalie Development
Pasco Valana and Mike Valley belong to the Hockey Canada Goaltending Advisory Board with Pasco and have developed the Levels of Goaltending Certi?cation that we are beginning to see today across North America. Goaltenders from Minor hockey through to the NHL have experienced our approach of controlled and organized progressions at every level of the game to ensure that the basic habits establish a strong foundation of excellence. Sixteen of the current NHL starting goaltenders work with EG coaches including Pasco Valana. Pasco has been in the goaltending development business for 26 years, is the goaltending coach and consultant for BC Hockey and the Personal Development Coach responsible for developing our National Team Goaltenders and goaltending coaches. Pasco is a member of the BC Hockey Coaching Committee and holds multiple certi?cations including the highest coaching certi?cation High Performance Level II theory 3.
Sean Murray is the original founder and President of PFGS; Sean has been instructing goalies for 20 years. Sean has been a master instructor for the legendary Vladislav Tretiak. Considered one of the games elite instructors, Sean is currently the goaltending consultant with the WHL Champion Vancouver Giants, the UBC Thunderbirds (CIS), Hockey Canada, Twist Pro conditioning, as well as being a consultant to associations throughout BC and California. Sean has played many years of Junior hockey and has also coached in the PIJHL and the BCHL.
Rob Fuchs is a graduate of Hamline University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in business management - Rob played 4 years of college hockey where, as a freshman he won 2nd team all conference honors. Rob also played professionally with the Texarcana Bandits.? He has been training goalies for over 15 years - Spent Four years as the goalie coach with the Surrey Eagles where he has seen all his starting goalie receive Scholarships and in 2013 Won the Fred Page Cup, Western Canada Championship and RBC Semi-Finalist.
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