Richmond Jets Coaching Team & Skill Providers
2022-2023 DIRECTOR OF HOCKEY PROGRAMMING
Tim Preston
Director of Programming
Tim Preston is the co-founder and lead on ice instructor for Impact Hockey Development. As a highly recognized player development and skating coach, Tim works with a broad base of professional and amateur players. In addition to having trained Olympic gold medalists, Tim has worked with winners of the Maurice Richard Trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Stanley Cup.
Prior to coaching and starting Impact Hockey, Tim enjoyed a successful hockey career which included five years in the WHL playing for the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Saskatoon Blades. In 1999, he was selected in the third round of the NHL draft by the Buffalo Sabres and eventually finished his playing career within the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. Impact Hockey is excited to get back on the ice with the Richmond Jets association.
2022-2023 SKILLS PROVIDERS
Mats Lindgren
Skills Provider
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.
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.
Linden Saip
Skills Provider, U6-U9 & U11-U13C Coordinator
Linden’s playing career included time in the WHL, BCHL, and Canadian University Hockey League, where he graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Kinesiology; specializing in High-Performance Strength & Conditioning. Coach Saip has gained lots of experience providing exceptional skill development for players of all ages; specializing in Defense Specific Skills and Tactics. He has been an important part of the Surrey Eagles (BCHL) Coaching Staff for the past 4 seasons as an Assistant Coach, Director of Strength and Conditioning, and spent a portion of the 2018/19 BCHL season as the team’s Head Coach.
Milton Chan
Skills Provider
Milton has numerous years of experience not only as a minor hockey coach but also as a high-level skills provider for players of all ages. Milton was a part of the inaugural season of the Richmond Jets as the Head Coach of the U13A1 Team for the 2018/2019 season, where the team finished amongst the Top 5 Teams in Flight 1 in PCAHA, leading the team to a Gold Medal Finish in the Nanaimo Tier 1 U13 Tournament. We are very excited to have Milton join the rep program as our U13A1 coach and we look forward to working with him in the coming season!
Glenn Wheeler
Skills Provider
Glenn has numerous years of coaching experience in Richmond and most recently was with the Surrey MHA U15 A1 team. Glenn attended John Abbott College in Montreal, St. Lawrence University and played Junior Hockey in Belleville, Ont. He has trained players from Beginner to Pro in Canada, United States, Europe and Asia. Glenn is a Nationally Certified Coach with 20 years of Coaching experience in Skills Development, European Technique Power Skating as well as Game Playing and Compete Tactics. Coach Glenn’s unique ability to communicate with players of all ages and his attention to detail, discipline and running fast-paced sessions makes him one of the most sought-after Coaches in BC and abroad.
- Minor League Team Coach of the Year (6 Times)
- Twice (2) Championship Banner Head Coach Provincial Finals (4 Times Finalist)
- Eight Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association League Titles (PeeWee to Midget)
- Coached Seafair PeeWee 1996 Team-Quebec Winter Carnival (Record 5 wins-1 Loss)
- 21 Winter Tournament Champions In Canada and U.S. (Atom to Midget)
Michelle Popoff
Skills Provider – Skating Initiation Program & Intro to Hockey
Michelle has been a Skate Canada Certified PowerSkating and Figure Skating coach for over 35yrs and has worked for the Connaught Skating Club and most recently the Delta Skating Club as their Head Powerskating coach.
Michelle also works in Recreation with the City of Richmond at the Arenas, as the supervisor for the Learn to Skate Program and also has 3 adult sons that are all Richmond Alumni. Michelle is a passionate, energetic coach that strives to get the best out of every player. I pride myself on motivating all players, of all capabilities in a fun, high-energy but challenging setting, supporting each player's development while they gain confidence and build a strong skating foundation along the way!
2022-2023 GOALIE COACHES
Pasco Valana & Elite Goalies
Goaltending Coach
Pasco Valana is a professional goaltending coach based in Vancouver and has been with the Jets program for the past three years.
Pasco is the long-time goaltending coach with the UBC Thunderbirds women's hockey program. Valana has mentored 58 goaltenders to college scholarships and 13 to the National Hockey League.
He has also mentored a KHL All-Star, three Hobey Baker nominees, and goalies who have an NCAA Division I Championship and a Royal Bank Cup. In 2010, Valana was the Chief of Athlete Services for the sport of ice hockey at the Vancouver Olympic Games and was added to the coaches pool for Hockey Canada National Women’s U18, U22 and Senior National Training Camp.
Pasco is now working closely with Coaches at Hockey Canada in developing an accredited National Goaltending Certification Program.
Rob Fuchs & Proformance Goalies
Goaltending Coach
Rob Fuchs is a professional goaltending coach based in Vancouver. Rob has been coaching in Richmond hockey programs for over 10 years and is an alumni of Richmond Minor Hockey.
A graduate of Hamline University in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management; Rob played four years of NCAA college hockey where as a freshman he won 2nd team all-conference honors. The first student of PFGS to receive a college scholarship, Rob has been an owner of PFGS since 2005.
- Current goalie Coach – Delta Hockey Academy (2015 – present)
- Surrey Eagles Goalie Coach (2010 – 2014) – Fred Page and Western Canadian Champions 2013, RBC semi-finalists 2013
- SFU goalie coach (2009 – 2013)
2022-2023 COMPETITIVE (REP) COACHES
Linden Saip
U11 (Atom) A1 Head Coach
Linden is a former WHL player and long-time skills provider to the Jets, who also works with the BCHL Surrey Eagles.
We are very excited to have Linden join the rep program as our U11A1 coach and we look forward to working with him in the coming season!
Matt Leduc
U11 (Atom) A2
Matt’s coaching experience includes working as a skills coach for Dragicevic Hockey Development, Richmond Ravens, Fraser Valley Rush, and most recently was the head skills instructor for the Western Hockey League Development Combine.
Matt played his minor hockey in Richmond before moving on to play 5 years in the WHL for the Spokane Chiefs, and is currently studying at UBC with a focus in high performance coaching.
His coaching philosophy for minor hockey is that development is a byproduct of making learning hockey engaging and fun.
TBC
U11 (Atom) A3
Milton Chan
U13 (Peewee) A1 Head Coach
Milton has numerous years of experience not only as a minor hockey coach but also as a high-level skills provider for players of all ages. Milton was a part of the inaugural season of the Richmond Jets as the Head Coach of the U13A1 Team for the 2018/2019 season, where the team finished amongst the Top 5 Teams in Flight 1 in PCAHA, leading the team to a Gold Medal Finish in the Nanaimo Tier 1 U13 Tournament.
We are very excited to have Milton join the rep program as our U13A1 coach and we look forward to working with him in the coming season!
Jim Seto
U13 (Peewee) A2 Head Coach
This will be Jim’s 20th year of coaching.
He has coached Atom Rep – Midget Rep and most recently was the RJMHA U13A1 coach. Jim’s philosophy is about keeping it simple for the players. His priority is having fun while bringing structure and organization to gameplay.
Winning is not everything but rather developing and making the right decisions with and without the puck. Hockey is a team sport that he loves to participate in.
Nicholas Lo
U13 (Peewee) A3 Head Coach
Nick Lo has been an assistant coach at Richmond Jets minor hockey for the past 4 years. Nicholas coached Atom C Last Season. This is his first year as a Head Coach at the U13 Rep level. He is Looking forward to helping the kids develop their game, have fun and just enjoy the ride as Head Coach!
TBC Based on U13 Registration
U13 (Peewee) A4 Head Coach
Kamesh Goundar
U15 (Bantam) A1 Head Coach
Kamesh has been an assistant coach for 5 years. This will be his first year as a head coach and he is excited for the challenge. He grew up playing hockey with Seafair from the age of 5, and a year playing with the Richmond Sockeyes. He has always had a big passion for hockey, whether that be playing or coaching. His coaching philosophy comes with an old school approach while still being able to adapt to new school hockey.
Assistant Coach- 2015-2016 U18 Richmond Blues (Presidents Series Champions)
Assistant Coach- 2018-2019 U20 Richmond Jets (Provincial Champion)
Assistant Coach 2019-2021 U15 Surrey MHA (2019-2020- Bronze medal at KIBIHT)
Assistant Coach- 2021-2022 U18 Richmond Jets (Silver Medal at Abbotsford tournament)
TBC based on U15 Registration
U15 (Bantam) A2 Head Coach
Glenn Wheeler
U18 (Midget) A1 Head Coach
Glenn has numerous years of coaching experience in Richmond and most recently was with the Surrey MHA U15 A1 team. Glenn attended John Abbott College in Montreal, St. Lawrence University and played Junior Hockey in Belleville, Ont. He has trained players from Beginner to Pro in Canada, United States, Europe and Asia. Glenn is a Nationally Certified Coach with 20 years of Coaching experience in Skills Development, European Technique Power Skating as well as Game Playing and Compete Tactics. Coach Glenn’s unique ability to communicate with players of all ages and his attention to detail, discipline and running fast-paced sessions makes him one of the most sought-after Coaches in BC and abroad.
- Minor League Team Coach of the Year (6 Times)
- Twice (2) Championship Banner Head Coach Provincial Finals (4 Times Finalist)
- Eight Pacific Coast Amateur Hockey Association League Titles (PeeWee to Midget)
- Coached Seafair PeeWee 1996 Team-Quebec Winter Carnival (Record 5 wins-1 Loss)
- 21 Winter Tournament Champions In Canada and U.S. (Atom to Midget)
Steven Yip
U18 (Midget) A2 Head Coach
Steve has coached minor hockey for over 20 years and was the RJMHA U13A2 coach last season and currently Steve competing his HP1 certification. His experience ranges from house to rep levels with the last 15 years focused on the rep program. Steve is passionate about the game and brings his love of the sport to his player's while providing them the support and knowledge that will carry them throughout their life, beyond the sport.
Steve's coaching style is diverse as he believes there is no one approach that will suit every athlete. He finds the right balance of fun and competition with the aim to teach and not criticize.
Kenta Muraki
U21 (Juvenile) A1 Head Coach
If you have any questions regarding Rep Coaching, or if you are interested in coaching for the Richmond Jets, please contact the Rep Committee at rephockey@richmondjetsmha.com
THANK YOU TO OUR PLATINUM & DIAMOND SPONSORS
Richmond Jets Minor Hockey Association
As one of the largest minor hockey associations in British Columbia, the Richmond Jets Minor Hockey Association offers an integrated (boys and girls) minor hockey program from Initiation to Juvenile. Featuring both recreational ("C") and competitive ("A") streams, our programs operate out of the three different facilities in the City of Richmond: Richmond Ice Centre (RIC), Minoru Arenas (Stadium and Silver Rinks), Richmond Oval (North and South rinks).
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We acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.