U17 AAA

Trevor Sprague will oversee both the Integrated and Female U18 AAA teams in Northern B.C. Sprague has been involved in hockey in the north for over 30 years and has spent the last 15 years working with teams in the BCEHL. He is entering his eighth season as the general manager of the Cariboo Cougars and fourth as the general manager of the Northern Capitals. Sprague coached in Prince George for over 20 years before moving to the management side of the game.   

During his coaching and management career Sprague has won two provincial titles with the Cariboo Cougars’ U18 AAA team. Sprague is also a key driver behind the annual BC Hockey Winter Classic event that is held in Northern B.C. each winter.

Troy Stordy is entering his second season in the BCEHL and will take the general manager reins for the Thunderbirds' program after he split the duties last season. Stordy has served as the vice president of Mission Minor Hockey Association since 2010, while also serving as the development director and a coach in the association since joining MMHA in 2010.

Stordy, who currently lives in Mission, earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Simon Fraser University. Away from the rink Stordy currently works as a correctional program officer.

Julian Feijo enters his second season with the Fraser Valley Thunderbirds’ U17 AAA team this year, marking his second season in the BCEHL. He has spent the last four seasons coaching the White Rock Whalers of the Pacific Junior Hockey League (PJHL). In addition to his experience coaching junior hockey, he was a coach of the Vancouver Thunderbirds’ U18 A1 in 2017-18, winning a provincial championship. 

Originally from North Delta, and spending all of his minor hockey days playing with North Delta Minor Hockey Association, Feijo holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of British Columbia and is a Chartered Financial Analyst charterholder. Feijo’s playing career includes a pair of seasons with the North Delta Devils of the PJHL from 2010 to 2012. 

Alain Wozney will oversee both the Greater Vancouver Canadians and the Fraser Valley Rush teams this season. Wozney is entering his 11th season working in the BCEHL and his 10th with the Fraser Valley Rush program, serving as the program’s general manager since the 2014-15 season. He will also take on the role of general manager with the Greater Vancouver Canadians program for his third season. He last oversaw the Canadians in this role during the 2013-14 season. Wozney has over 40 years of experience working and playing in the minor hockey system in B.C.  

Wozney played his minor hockey with Burnaby Winter Club before progressing to Junior A and playing with the Burnaby Bluehawks. He then attended the Memorial University of Newfoundland, studying Psychology and Humanities. He is now self-employed and works in hockey management.

Denis Akimoto enters his first season in the BCEHL and takes on the head coaching role for the U17 Greater Vancouver Canadians for the 2023-24 season. Akimoto took on coaching roles last season with Vancouver Thunderbirds Minor Hockey Association and the Delta Ice Hawks of the Pacific Junior Hockey League. He also runs a skills development program for many associations in the Lower Mainland.

Originally from Khabarovsk, Russia, Akimoto played professional hockey around the globe with stops in Japan, Germany, and Poland before beginning his coaching journey in Canada. He attended University in Tokyo, Japan, and possesses a bachelor’s degree in Sociology, along with a minor in Sociology and Psychology.

Steve Smith is embarking on his second season as a general manager in the BCEHL. Smith also serves as the Executive Director of Kelowna Minor Hockey Association, a role he has held since 2017. Prior to this he was the Division Director for Kelowna Minor Hockey Association from 2010-17, and a coach in the association from 2008-17 as well.  

The Kelowna native has compiled over 17 years of experience working in minor hockey in Kelowna.

After leading the U18 AAA Okanagan Rockets to a league championship and a bronze medal at the TELUS Cup in 2013-14, Mack O’Rourke returns to the BCEHL for his third campaign as a head coach. Now in his fourth-year coaching in the league, O’Rourke’s other coaching tenures have kept him in the Okanagan area, serving as a coach at Okanagan Hockey Academy for multiple stints, most recently from 2017 to 2022.  

O’Rourke’s post-secondary experience took him to the Lower Mainland where he attended the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). 

After serving as a key volunteer with the Thompson Blazers program during the 2022-23 season, Geoff Fuoco assumes the position of general manager for the program for the 2023-24 season. With over 14 years of experience in hockey, Fuoco has held coaching positions at the minor hockey level with Sicamous Minor Hockey Association and Salmon Arm Minor Hockey Association. He also coached at the junior level with the Sicamous Eagles of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL).

Originally from Revelstoke, Fuoco currently resides in Kamloops, and serves as the arena manager for the Sicamous & District Recreation Centre. Fuoco has ran skills programs in Sicamous, Vernon and Kamloops over the past 12 years, and is a huge believer in skill development.

Mark Chase is in his first season with the U17 AAA Thompson Blazers, and his 18th year coaching overall. He is currently in the final stages of completing his master’s degree in Counselling Psychology and his goal is to balance coaching with his future development of a mental health practice designed to focus on working with athletes involved in sports.

Chase was born and raised in Kamloops, B.C. He is looking forward to sharing his knowledge and experience with his team while concurrently learning other staff members and players. He believes that participating in coaching creates opportunities to network with like-minded individuals and allows them to collaborate with each other.

Jamie Fiset is entering his sixth year in the BCEHL as general manager with the Valley West Giants and brings an additional eight years of experience working in minor hockey previously. He has been involved with BC Hockey’s Program of Excellence including as the head coach of Team BC at the 2016 WHL Cup.  

Fiset was a board member with Langley Minor Hockey Association from 2010-14. Away from the rink Fiset is a teacher, he completed his Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education at the University of British Columbia before earning his Master of Arts at Royal Roads University. 

Entering his second season with the U17 AAA Valley West Giants, Dryden Valade assumes the position with two years of minor hockey coaching experience under his belt. The Cloverdale product has been involved with Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association and Langley Minor Hockey Association programs for two years before making the jump to the BCEHL. He has also been facilitating on-and-off ice skill development sessions for the last two years.  

Valade’s playing career is highlighted by three seasons in the Pacific Junior Hockey League with the Surrey Knights, Grandview Steelers and the Delta Ice Hawks. Outside of hockey, Valade played lacrosse at the Junior A level.  

Lance Vaillancourt is entering his second season as a general manager in the BCEHL. Previously, Vaillancourt was the associate coach & hockey operations manager for the South Zone Knights U18 Tier 1 team. He has also performed various coaching roles with Penticton Minor Hockey at all levels within the association. Vaillancourt brings over 35 years of experience within minor hockey to the Royals.  

In addition to his work within minor hockey in B.C., Vaillancourt was also a linesman within BC Hockey and worked as a linesman in the BCHL. Away from the rink he works as a civil servant with the Federal Government.

The 2023-24 season will mark the first season behind a BCEHL bench for Garrett Dunlop. Dunlop coached with the Nanaimo Buccaneers of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League over the last two seasons, while also serving as a skills coach with Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association and Nanaimo District Secondary School’s Skills Academy.

Dunlop grew up playing his minor hockey in Nanaimo where he also attended post-secondary school at Vancouver Island University (VIU). While completing degrees in Kinesiology, Business Marketing and Education, Dunlop laced up for VIU’s hockey team for five seasons, where he became the schools’ all-time leading scorer. Away from the rink, Dunlop is a high school teacher.

With five seasons of coaching experience with the Vancouver North West Hawks under his belt, Guido Lamberti-Charles takes the reigns of the U17 AAA Chiefs for the second season. Lamberti-Charles’ coaching journey began in Europe, as he spent a decade overseas coaching in Germany, Belgium, Austria and Italy. Lamberti-Charles also spent a pair of seasons as a coach consultant with the Iowa State University Hockey Program. 

Originally from Germany, Lamberti-Charles attended the College of Applied Sciences, Trier, in Germany. His playing career spanned 14 years, which saw him play professionally across various German leagues. 

Dave Wilkie will assume the role of head coach in the BCEHL for the first time after spending two seasons as assistant coach with the Hawks. Wilkie has over 10 years of coaching experience in the Lower Mainland with Tri-Cities Female Ice Hockey Association, Coquitlam Minor Hockey Association (MHA) and the North Vancouver Wolf Pack of the Pacific Junior Hockey League.

Originally from Vancouver, Wilkie grew up playing for Grandview Minor Hockey Association before moving on to the junior ranks with the Penticton Panthers of the BC Junior Hockey League. After junior, the game took Wilkie across the pond as he laced up professionally in Great Britain for the Soilhull Barons and Soilhull Blaze of the English Premier Ice Hockey League.