BC HOCKEY ANNOUNCES 2023 FEMALE U18 PROGRAM OF EXCELLENCE STAFF

For Immediate Release

April 21, 2023

Saanichton, B.C. - BC Hockey is proud to announce the Female U18 hockey staff for the 2023 Program of Excellence (POE) season.

Amy de Bree will take charge of the bench for her first season after spending the last three POE seasons as an assistant coach. Whitney Juszkiewicz returns for her second season as an assistant coach with the Female U18 team and will be joined by fellow assistant coach Jesse Hammill, who will be making his POE debut. Video coach Allan Russell rounds out the coaching staff as he also enters his first season with the program.

Lydia Maxwell returns to the bench as Female U18 Team BC Athletic Therapist and Les Cleverly also returns as equipment manager for his fourth season with the POE squad.

"We feel incredibly fortunate to have Amy de Bree lead our Female U18 POE program this season," Commissioner, Program of Excellence Fred Zweep said, "We have a very experienced staff from top to bottom, and feel that they will give our athletes the best chance to develop and find success both on-and-off the ice."

Regional Camps are already underway, with the second and final camp taking place in Langley this weekend. Following Regional Camps, a selection of players will be invited to move on to the Provincial Camp stage that will take place July 20-23, 2023, in Chilliwack B.C.. More information will be released as it becomes available.

Ultimately, 20 players will be selected to represent Team BC at the 2023 National Women's U18 Championship in November.

Amy de Bree

Head Coach

Hometown: Shawnigan Lake, B.C.

2022-23 Team: Greater Vancouver Canadians U18 AAA (BCEHL)

Background: Amy de Bree will make her debut as the Female U18 Team BC Head Coach after she spent the last three years as the team's assistant coach. She most recently helped the team to a gold medal at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. De Bree was also the Female Team BC Head Coach at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championships in 2017 where her team earned a Bronze Medal.

De Bree was the assistant coach with the BCEHL's Greater Vancouver Canadians U18 AAA team last season after she took charge the BCEHL's Greater Vancouver Comets as head coach during the 2021-22 season. From 2019-21 she served in the position Assistant Coach – Video for the University of British Columbia Women’s Ice Hockey Team. She has also compiled over 12 years of experience coaching at various levels throughout Vancouver Thunderbirds Minor Hockey Association (MHA), Vancouver Female MHA, and Vancouver MHA.

Whitney Juszkiewicz

Assistant Coach

Hometown: Edmonton, Alta.

2022-23 Team: Delta Hockey Academy U18 Prep (CSSHL)

Background: Whitney Juszkiewicz returns for her second season as Female U18 Team BC Assistant Coach after she helped the team to a gold medal at the 2023 Canada Winter Games. She was also previously the Female POE Coordinator and played integral roles with Team BC's bronze medal team at the 2019 Canada Winter Games, and the 2017 Team BC which claimed a bronze medal at the National Women’s U18 Championship. Juszkiewicz has served as a leader in the National Hockey League Coaches Association (NHLCA) Female Coach Mentor Program.

Juszkiewicz brings over 10-years of experience working with numerous MHA's in the Lower Mainland and is a Hockey Canada Skills Coach. She was awarded BC Hockey's Development Award - Coaching in 2022, and was named the BFL Female Coach of the Year for B.C. in 2021.

Jesse Hammill

Assistant Coach

Hometown: Victoria, B.C.

2022-23 Team: Vancouver Island Seals Female U18 AAA (BCEHL)

Background: Jesse Hammill joins the Female POE program for the first time this season. He has spent the last three seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Island Seals program in the BCEHL. Hammill began coaching when he was only 17-years-old and has coached in the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (Oceanside Generals, Nanaimo Buccaneers & Campbell River Storm) and the English Premier Ice Hockey League (EPIHL). He has coached, mentored, and managed at nearly every level of the game.

Prior to beginning coaching, Hammill compiled 13 years of experience playing hockey, and played for multiple professional teams across the United Kingdom.

Allan Russell

Video Coach

Hometown: Nanaimo, B.C.

2022-23 Team: Trinity Western University Men's Hockey Team (U Sports)

Background: Allan Russell begins his first season with the BC Hockey POE program as the Female U18 Video Coach. Russell spent the last two seasons as Video Coach with the Trinity Western Spartans Men’s Hockey team (U Sports). He is also North Vancouver Minor Hockey Association’s Goaltending Lead, having held that position since 2021.

Originally from Nanaimo, B.C., and a graduate of Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association, Russell has coached and scouted with multiple teams and leagues across the globe. He has worked as a scout with the Corpus Christi Ice Rays (North American Hockey League), U Sports scout for Metal Ligaen (Denmark's Professional League) and Video & Analytics Coach with the Botany Swarm in the New Zealand Ice Hockey League.

Lydia Maxwell

Athletic Therapist

Hometown: Port Coquitlam, B.C.

2022-23 Team: Female U18 & Male U16 Team BC

Background: Maxwell is entering her fourth year as the team’s athletic therapist. Previously, she was the athletic therapist for the Delta Hockey Academy of the CSSHL from 2016 - 2021. She also worked for the Port Moody Panthers of the Pacific Junior Hockey League during the 2018-19 season.

Maxwell completed a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Kinesiology and Psychology with a concentration in active rehabilitation at Simon Fraser University in 2015. She then continued her education in Calgary as a post graduate student at Mount Royal University where she completed an advanced certificate in Athletic Therapy. In 2016, she passed her National Board Certification exam with the Canadian Athletic Therapy Association to become a Certified Athletic Therapist.

Les Cleverly

Equipment Manager

Hometown: Hope, B.C.

2022-23 Team: Salmon Arm Silverbacks (BCHL)

Background: Les Cleverly has been with BC Hockey’s POE program over the last four years where he has worked as the Equipment Manager & Trainer for the U16 Male Team, and the Equipment Manager with the Female U18 team. He was a member of the Female U18 team that claimed a gold medal at the 2023 Canada Winter Games and the Male U16 team that captured the 2021 WHL Cup title.

Cleverly is the trainer with the Salmon Arm Silverbacks of the British Columbia Hockey League and has been a paramedic for the past 30 years. He currently oversees and manages the Clinical Air Operations program for BC Emergency Health Services, which provides Critical Care Air Ambulance for patients throughout B.C.