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
Curtis Skip
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
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.
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.
