Hockey (W) - Coaches | uOttawa Gee-Gees

HEAD COACH: YANICK EVOLA

On June 1, 2010, Yanick Evola became the sixth head coach in the history of the women's hockey program. He is now going into his third year as the head coach of the University of Ottawa women’s hockey program.

The Boucherville, Québec native joined the University of Ottawa after spending the past three years at the helm of the Édouard-Montpetit College AA women's hockey team, during which time he led the team to two consecutive provincial championship titles. Read more >

From 2003 to 2007, Evola worked at the professional level, serving as head coach and director of operations for the Montreal Axion in the National Women's Hockey League. Under his direction, the team won the Clarkson Cup in 2006. Since 2003, he had also been a coach for the sport-études hockey program at De Mortagne high school (Boucherville, Qué.), as well as a technical coach for the city's minor hockey league.

Evola was an all-star forward for the St-Francis Xavier University men's hockey team from 1998 to 2002 and served as assistant captain of the 2001 CIS silver medal team. On the ice, Evola amassed an impressive 199 regular season points during his five year career with the X-Men and proved to be a dominant player throughout his university career in Antigonish. A three-time CIS all-Canadian (1998-99, 1999-2000, 2000-01), he obtained a bachelor's degree in physical education as well as a bachelor of education from St-FX, and later pursued studies in sport psychology at the University of Montreal. Evola also made his mark in the Quebec Junior Minor Hockey League (QMJHL), amassing over 300 points in four seasons with the Shawinigan Cataractes and the Foreurs de Val D’Or.

Evola enters his third season behind the Gee-Gees bench and is looking forward to sharing his knowledge and experiences in hockey to better the University of Ottawa women’s hockey program.

ASSISTANT COACH: ÉRIKA POULIOT

In May of 2012 the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women’s hockey program announced that former garnet and grey player and captain, Érika Pouliot, will be returning to the team as assistant coach this season.

The forward from St-Joseph de Beauce, Québec, played five seasons with the Gee-Gees, serving as captain for the last two seasons. Pouliot has completed her Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics and Masters in Human Kinetics. Pouliot was twice named to the RSEQ’s second all-star team. In July 2011, she took home silver while representing Canada at the World Ball Hockey Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. Read more >

Pouliot’s community involvement has included helping coach the “learn to skate” program at uOttawa, time as an academic mentor for women’s hockey student athletes, and helping coordinate Gee-Gees summer hockey camps. Pouliot has also been involved in the “Start2Finish, Running and Reading” program at Robert E. Wilson Public School located in Vanier, Ottawa and been co-director of the program for the past three years. Her community involvement earned her the President’s award during this year’s University of Ottawa Sports Services varsity athletic banquet.

ASSISTANT COACH: STEVE SEGUIN

Steve Seguin joined the University of Ottawa program in the spring of 2012 after several years with the Ontario Women’s Hockey Association's Under 18 program. A long time women’s hockey advocate, Steve has been involved in the women’s game for over 16 years, and has been teaching hockey since 1983. Steve served as head coach of Team Ontario Red in 2007 (Kitchener, On.) and 2011 (Saguenay, Qc.), where they captured the National Championship title on both occasions.

A graduate of the Peterborough Petes, Seguin made the jump to the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings before a serious injury brought an abrupt end to his National Hockey League career.

ASSISTANT COACH: MARC LAFLEUR

Marc Lafleur will be joining the University of Ottawa staff for the 2012-13 season. Lafleur has been involved in women’s hockey within the region for a long time.

Lafleur holds his NCCP Level 2 coaching certification and has been involved with the Gloucester-Cumberland Girls Hockey Stars since 2000. Drafted by the Saguenéens de Chicoutimi in 1979, he was unable to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League because of an injury. As a result, Lafleur went on to continue his hockey career with the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees during a short period of time and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Human Kinetics in 1983.

GOALIE COACH: ROBYN RITTMASTER

Robyn Rittmaster joined the Gee-Gees as goalie coach in 2010 after six seasons as a goalie in the NWHL/CWHL and a very successful CIS career. As a player, she has won numerous national championships including three CIS championships, two with the University of Alberta (2003, 2004) and the other with University of Calgary's soccer team (1998).

Rittmaster’s other national banners include three senior women's national championships, two with the Calgary Oval X-treme (1998, 2001) and one with the Brampton Thunder (2006). She has also been invited to U22 and Senior National team camps. Read more >

Off the ice, Rittmaster is a two time Academic All-Canadian earning a master's degree in environmental economics. She has spent time coaching at hockey schools across Canada, as well as lending her knowledge to local minor hockey programs. She is currently an economist at Health Canada and is an active volunteer at the Ottawa Humane Society.

SCOUT : ALAIN LAPENSÉE

Alain Lapensée will be joining the University of Ottawa staff for the 2012-13 season.

Lapensée will be the head recruiter for the 2012-13 season. He has been a member of the Clarence-Rockland Girls Hockey Association for over six years, where he currently serves as the vice-president and the head of the women’s hockey development committee and competitive programs in Rockland. In 2010-11, his team won the silver medal at the Ontario provincial championships. Alain, a former hockey player himself, is passionate about the sport and will, without a doubt, play a very important role within the women’s hockey program.

EQUIPMENT MANAGER: BOB BOWES

Bob graduated from the University of Ottawa in 1977 with a Masters in Science in Human Kinetics and is currently self-employed as a fitness and lifestyle consultant in Ottawa.

Bob’s volunteer involvement with the University of Ottawa Women’s hockey team began 7 years ago assisting with fitness testing and conditioning. The past 5 years Bob has been working as the team equipment manager. Bob is in charge of the transportation, repairs and regular service of Gee-Gee equipment which includes skate sharpening. Bob is more than an equipment manager, as his hard-working and motivating character positively influence the Gee-Gee team atmosphere.

	STRENGTH AND CONDITIONING COACH: KAYLA HOTTOT Kayla Hottot joined the Gee-Gees as the strength and conditioning coach in 2011 after five seasons as a forward for the University of Ottawa women’s hockey team. In 2005, she was a member of the U-18 Team Ontario which completed in Salmon Arms, British Columbia. As a player in the CIS, she was a member of the CIS all-star team from 2007-2009 and a member of the 2009 Gold medal winning FISU team that competed in Harbin, China. She is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of all fitness aspects of the team's training, including fitness testing and workout programs.

	POWER SKATING COACH: JASON PRÉVOST Jason Prevost, a graduate of the University of Ottawa's Human Kinetics and Education Program as joined the program in fall 2012. He is working as a Hockey Program Director at Franco-Cite High School in Ottawa. He is also the director of Player Development for the AAA 67's and president of the OBBHA Youth Ball Hockey League. He continues to train, develop and mentor athletes and coaches towards the achievement of their athletic and performance goals.

	PEAK PERFORMANCE COACH: RAYMOND PERRAS Raymond Perras joins the staff of the Women’s Hockey Program for the 2012-2013 season as Peak Performance Coach. Raymond has been involved as a peak performance coach at the University of Ottawa with varsity sports since 1993 (Football, Soccer, Men’s Hockey and both Basketball Programs). Raymond is a professional engineer (University of Ottawa 1972), a Certified Professional Coach and a Certified Instructor/Facilitator who works with leaders in both business and sports up to the professional level. His contribution will be in implementing a team framework to ensure maximum results and continuous improvement of the team process. He will also help with mental preparation for the athletes. Raymond is a published author. His peak performance work is based on the concepts of his book entitled AïM for Life Mastery. His leadership training expertise will soon be available in a book entitled 10 Discussions for Effective Leadership.

TEAM PHYSICIAN: MARIE-JOSEE KLETT

Dr Marie-Josée Klett is an MD graduate of the University of Ottawa. She became involved with the team in 2007 while completing her Sport Medicine Fellowship and has continued to follow the team since.

In addition to sporting event coverage she practices a mix of family and sport medicine within the community. She has extensive experience covering hockey, including the 2009 IIHF World Juniors, women’s hockey at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games and the 2011 U18 national women’s camp. She also covers several other summer sports, and most recently worked at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Her goal is to help keep all the players healthy and performing at their best!

STUDENT THERAPISTS: SHELBY STABLEFORD

Shelby Stableford is in her fourth year of the Honours Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa and plans to pursue a degree in Athletic Therapy. Stableford has been involved in many sports, but her main focus has always been hockey, winning several championships and
awards.

	STUDENT THERAPISTS: VÉRONIQUE AUDET Véronique Audet, from Orléans Ontario, is going into her first year of Human Kinetics after completing 3 years of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa. Having played hockey and soccer for 13 years, she has high hopes of becoming a physiotherapist in the sports field. She was the student trainer for the women’s Rugby team for the 2011-2012 season. Once the season was over, she also worked as an Athletic Therapist’s Assistant at the University’s Varsity clinic. She is looking forward to working with the women’s hockey team for the 2012-2013 season as a student athletic therapist.

	PHYSOTHERAPIST: ISABELLE AUBÉ Isabelle Aubé graduated from the University of Ottawa in 2000, with a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy. She joined the Gee-Gees varsity staff as a physiotherapist in Fall 2003. She also worked regional and national events with various sports; mainly hockey, figure skating and gymnastics. As an athlete, Aubé competed in ice hockey more than eight seasons for the Ottawa Raiders in the NWHL/CWHL. She also represented Canada with the U22 National Team from 1998-2000 and was invited to Senior National team camps. She was team captain of the 1999-2000 U22 team. In addition, she won gold with Team Canada at the 2007 Women’s World Ball Hockey Championships.

	MENTAL PERFORMANCE CONSULTANT : MARIANNE LOCKE Marianna (MJ) joins the Gee-Gees after an exciting career at St. Lawrence University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and a GPA of 3.6. She also served as captain between 2008-2009, scored over 100 points during her career and participated in four ECAC and NCAA tournaments. Throughout her successful career, MJ was the recipient of the St. Lawrence University Martha Mindorf award as well as the ECAC and Hockey East Sarah Devins award. MJ's wealth of experience included a teaching position at Elite Hockey Schools as well as the Assistant Women's Hockey Coach at Union College. MJ is looking forward to working with the team and fine tuning their techniques in such areas as focus, goal setting, stress, and visualization.

	YOGA COACH: ROBIN RUSSELL-HOSEIN Seven years of gymnastics training peaked Robin Russell-Hosein’s interest in body awareness. Both his mother and brother were yoga teachers so the young boy received instruction at a very early age. He started a personal practice at 17 and gravitated towards the practice of Power Yoga. By 2008, his practice moved away from that discipline to favoring a more restorative form of practice. In 2008 he completed a 200 hour Hatha Yoga Teacher Training at Upward Dog in Ottawa. “Yoga has changed my life. Teaching has brought great joy and satisfaction to me on a daily basis. I love it. Helping people in the most subtle ways and watching positive growth encourages me as a teacher of yoga. “