About Columbia Valley Hockey School
HISTORY
Columbia Valley Hockey School (CVHS) was founded in the summer of 2014 by Kevin Noble, Brett Ponich, Chris Bruton. CVHS offers camps for motivated athletes ages 5-17 and all skill levels. Having been created by 3 current/former professional players, CVHS is designed to focus on what professional players wish they had focused on in their years of development. CVHS strives to be a leader in the hockey camp industry providing players with a wealth of knowledge from experienced professional athletes that share a passion for passing on their craft to the upcoming generations.
Having instructed multiple camps over the course of the past decade, our instructors know what it takes to get the most out of young athletes. From skating mechanics, shooting, and stick handling, to off-ice training, mental training and current NHL guest instructors, Columbia Valley Hockey School will bring your game to next level.
Being based in beautiful Invermere, B.C, we offer an opportunity for parents to relax and enjoy themselves with the local attractions while trusting our head instructors to maintain a focused and fun camp for their young athlete.
Our goal is to create an opportunity for the up and coming generation to use each off-season, so they are best prepared for not only the start of their next season, but also making the transition to higher levels.
Senior Management Team and Board of Directors.
Christopher Bruton
General Manager/Head Instructor/Owner
Chris was one of the original founders and owners of the Columbia Valley Hockey School.
Growing up within downtown Calgary, he pursued his passion for hockey having competed throughout the Calgary minor hockey system. He played four years in the Western Hockey League (WHL) and was Captain of the Spokane Memorial Cup Championship team.
He went on to obtain a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Chris competed in 5 professional hockey seasons for the St. Louis Blues, New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings farm systems in the American Hockey League (AHL). In his final year of professional hockey, Chris competed for the Braehead Clan in Glasgow, Scotland in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).
Obtaining his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of the West of Scotland. Chris works as a Sales and Marketing representative for NL Fisher Supervision and Engineering in downtown Calgary within the energy sector. He also teaches group fitness classes and is a personal trainer out of Passage Yoga Studio. He enjoys spending time in the mountains with his family and friends, especially being active with skiing, biking, and climbing.
Tim Green
Head of Hockey Operations/Owner
Born and raised in Camrose, Alberta, Tim Green played his entire minor hockey in his hometown and made the jump to the Camrose Kodiaks in their inaugural season at the age of 16. He then went on to play four years in the WHL and two years playing in his hometown of Camrose for the Augustana Vikings where he studied Education, won a scoring title and was named League MVP. In 2004 he played professionally in Columbus, Georgia. In those six years he won a championship and currently holds the record for most points in franchise history. In the first of three seasons coaching Bantam AAA Hockey in Camrose Tim Green was named AMBHL Coach of the Year. Tim also spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Camrose Jr.A Kodiaks and is currently the Head Coach/GM for the Augustana Vikings in the ACAC. Tim continues to regularly participate in Hockey Alberta coaching programs and is a certified High Performance Coach. He also owns his own hockey development company within Camrose, Alberta where he works with hockey academies, minor hockey associations and also is a coach mentor for many club teams.
Brett Ponich
President/Owner
Brett Ponich played professional hockey for five years in the AHL and ECHL after being drafted in the second round, 48 th overall to the St. Louis Blues in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to his professional career, Brett played for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League and was selected captain his final two seasons. Since retiring from professional hockey, Brett has pursued an academic career and is currently finishing his final year of medical school at the University of Calgary. As an original founder of CVHS, Brett has a passion for teaching and is committed to helping players take their game to the next level both on and off the ice.
Goalie Instructors
Ryan Quinn - Week #1
Ryan started his hockey career in the small town of Sexsmith, Alberta. He played his atom and novice before moving on to Grande Prairie to play AAA bantam and midget AAA for the Storm. From there he went on to play Junior B in Spruce Grove for one season while finishing his grade 12. At 17 years old, Ryan went and tried out for the Quesnel Millionaires in the BCJHL only to be traded to the Fernie Ghostriders in the AJHL. Ryan played three seasons in Fernie including a National Championship appearance. Ryan accepted a Division 3 Scholarship to Superior Wisconsin to play for the Yellowjackets. He studied exercise science for 3 years while maintaining a 3.7 GPA and honor roll before transferring back to the University of Calgary and playing for the Dino's. Ryan continues to play hockey in a downtown Calgary Men's league.
Ryan has a back-ground in personal training and continues his athletics passions as an avid Ultra Marathon Runner competing in numerous races every summer. Ryan enjoys getting the outdoors with his wife Mia, their son scout and the family dog Ranger.
Curtis Skip - Week #2
Coach Skip played four years (2011-2015) in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) with both the Grande Prairie Storm and the Drumheller Dragons. In 2012 coach Skip represented Team Canada West at the World Junior A challenge, bringing home a silver medal. He played university hockey with the Augustana Vikings of the Alberta Collegiate Athletic Conference (ACAC) from 2015-2020. He set the win record for the franchise and was awarded Male Athlete of the Year for the University of Alberta Augustana Campus in his second season. Coach Skip also played semi-professional in the Australian International Hockey League for the Sydney Ice Dogs in between year three and four with the Vikings (2018).
Coach Skip has over ten years of experience with coaching at all levels, specifically goalie coaching. He is currently the assistant coach and goalie coach for the Augustana Vikings (ACAC) as well as the goalie coach for the HSL Red Wings in Viking Alberta and has been with that program since their Bantam AAA and U-16 program was in Camrose. Coach Skip lives in Camrose Alberta where he teaches’ elementary school and works as the goalie coach for the hockey academy programs at Charlie Killam School and Our Lady of Mount Pleasant school. During the summers of 2019 and 2020 he ran his own goalie school “Skippers’ Kickers” in his hometown of Grande Prairie, Alberta. Coach Skip has worked with several goaltenders currently playing at the Junior “A” and WHL levels.
Erik Powers - Week #3
Erik was raised in Invermere and grew up playing his minor hockey in the Columbia Valley. He is a true local. Erik is currently playing goalie for the Cariboo Cougars U18 AAA in the BCEHL.
Prior to moving to Prince George this season, he played a couple of seasons for the East Kootenay Avalanche AA U15 and U18 teams. From very early in his hockey career, Erik Knew he wanted to be a goalie. He has been playing the position since he was 8 years old. Erik currently assists his goalie coach with weekly goalie sessions for other goalies playing in the area, and assisted in the Christmas goalie camps in Prince George. Coaching has become a passion for Erik, as he loves sharing this same passion with other goalies and helping them develop their skills. When Erik isn’t on the ice or working on his strength and fitness, you will find him skiing in the winter, and in the summer, mountain biking, camping, swimming, and diving in lakes, fishing, or steer roping with his horse.
Head & Junior Instructors
Curtis Skip (Head)
Coach Skip has over ten years of experience with coaching at all levels, specifically goalie coaching. He is currently the goalie coach for the Augustana Vikings (ACAC) as well as the HSL Red Wings in Viking Alberta and has been with that program since their Bantam AAA and U-16 program was in Camrose. While in Camrose he also was the goalie coach for the hockey academy programs at Charlie Killam School and Our Lady of Mount Pleasant school while attending University at Augustana and playing for the Vikings. He continues to coach in St. Albert, Alberta through the newly rebranded “Level Up Goaltending” (formally Gold in the Net Albert) where he has been helping and coaching since he was 13 years old. During the summers of 2019 and 2020 he ran his own goalie school “Skippers’ Kickers” in his hometown of Grande Prairie, Alberta. Coach Skip has worked with several goaltenders currently playing at the Junior “A” and WHL levels.
Kyle Ford (Head)
Kyle Ford grew up in Calgary Alberta playing for a community team called Crowfoot before joining the NWCAA which is Calgary’s NorthWest team of their quadrant hockey. His first stop as a junior was Fernie BC playing for the Fernie Ghostriders in the KIJHL. It was an unforgettable experience being his first time away from home, and loving every second of it! After his year in Fernie the SJHL ice wolves reached out and offered to sign him with the team which he accepted. His last stop was Kindersley SK also in the SJHL where it was cut short due to Covid but was still an awesome time to get to be in a new place with more amazing billets. Now that his Junior career is coming to an end, he now plays hockey attends school with the UofA Augustana Vikings.
His off-season consists of working for a concrete company and getting in regular workouts to stay in shape. What he loves most about working with youth hockey athletes is to tell some stories of playing junior and providing advice that he has received along his own personal journey.
"Overall just being at the rink with the players and having fun is what it's all about!"
Jake Gudjonson (Lead)
Jake Gudjonson grew up in Golden British Columbia. Currently he is playing hockey at the ACAC level with the Augustana Vikings, taking a degree in psychology. For the summers Jake
works at a furniture and appliance store full time and is training for the upcoming season.
“I have always loved working with youth players to try and help grow the sport of hockey. I enjoy watching the kids improve and watching them have fun as we teach and help them become the best they can be.”
Kyle Ford (Lead)
Kyle Ford grew up in Calgary Alberta playing for a community team called Crowfoot before joining the NWCAA which is Calgary’s NorthWest team of their quadrant hockey. His first stop as a junior was Fernie BC playing for the Fernie Ghostriders in the KIJHL. It was an unforgettable experience being his first time away from home, and loving every second of it! After his year in Fernie the SJHL ice wolves reached out and offered to sign him with the team which he accepted. His last stop was Kindersley SK also in the SJHL where it was cut short due to Covid but was still an awesome time to get to be in a new place with more amazing billets. Now that his Junior career is coming to an end, he now plays hockey attends school with the UofA Augustana Vikings.
His off-season consists of working for a concrete company and getting in regular workouts to stay in shape. What he loves most about working with youth hockey athletes is to tell some stories of playing junior and providing advice that he has received along his own personal journey.
"Overall just being at the rink with the players and having fun is what it's all about!"
Paddy Donahue (Junior)
Paddy was born and raised right here in beautiful Invermere BC. Paddy started playing hockeyn when he was 5 years old and fell in love with the game right from the beginning. He’s a 16-year-old defenseman going into his last year of u18 hockey. Paddy has been fortunate enough to pursue his dreams of playing higher levels of hockey by playing u15 AA with the East Kootenay Avalanche organization in Cranbrook. Then billeting and moving away from Invermere he played CSSHL u16 prep for the Rink Kelowna Hockey Academy in Kelowna BC. He then played u18 prep for the International Hockey Academy in Calgary Alberta. The game of hockey has taught him so much life lessons and has given him many great experiences. He looks forward to giving back to the game and sharing his knowledge. Paddy attended the inaugural year of the Columbia Valley Hockey School in 2014 and has come back every year and has now become an instructor.
Sammy Matheos (Junior)
Sammy was an attentive hard-working Columbia Valley Hockey School participant for 5 years. Instructors enjoyed Sammy's good attitude and natural leadership skills so much during his time that we knew he would become an instructor one day.
Sammy played U16 AA with the Calgary Northstars. He led not only his team but the entire Northstars AA program in points. As a team Assistant Captain he led the team to the city semifinals where they just lost in game 3 overtime. At that time he was third in league playoff points. Most importantly he received a letter from his coach midway through the season saying he was the best leader he had seen in over 10 years coaching at this age group and level.
Nick Van Horne (Junior)
Nick was born in Calgary and started playing hockey when he was 5 years old, quickly developing a life-long love for the game. Nick moved to TX where he had an opportunity to play AA, AAA travel hockey in Houston.
When Nick and his family returned to Calgary, he played Bow Valley Hockey for Bantam and Midget hockey. His last playing experience was practicing and playing a few preseason games in Junior “B” in Calgary in 2020. Nick decided in 2021 to try his hand at coaching a U11 hockey team in Calgary’s Knight’s Hockey Association. His strong work ethic, hockey ability and ability to relate to kids are all attributes that were key to his success as a first-year coach. He enjoyed the experience “giving back” as a volunteer coach and is excited about his opportunity to do more as a Junior Coach with Columbia Valley Hockey School. Nick has been a part of CVHS’s hockey school from its inception in 2014. He enjoyed the structure, high level of coaching and the overall experience. Nick is 19 years old and is going into his third year of a four-year degree in Criminal Justice at Mount Royal University in Calgary, and currently works for Joey Restaurant in Eau Claire. Nick is looking forward to being a part of the CVHS Coaching staff this summer!
