As part
of our continued commitment to providing the best minor hockey player
development program in Burlington, the Jr. Raiders coaches for our U8 and U9
teams bring their professional playing backgrounds and cumulative years of
learning the game at the highest levels to their respective teams.
Cory
Conacher will lead our U8 team, developing both players and assistant coaches
in their first year of organized hockey.
Cory’s professional career includes 14 seasons, 7 of which were played
in the NHL. In his first full season in
the AHL, Cory took home both the AHL MVP and AHL Rookie of the Year awards,
along with leading the league in goals, an unprecedented accomplishment. Cory’s elite skating and shooting skills led
to a productive pro career and his dedication to the game has enabled him to
transition into one of Burlington’s top skills instructors. As head of our U8 development program, Cory’s
season plan will see a progressive development program for both the team and
the individual players while working with the assistant coaches, teaching them
how to develop and implement season practice plans, game strategies and
coaching techniques.
Former
pro Chris Gibson will be leading our U9 team.
The Jr. Raiders 2024-25 U8 team blossomed under the direction of coach
Chris, developing both their individual and game skills resulting in tremendous
player and team growth. Chris’
experience as a pro player in France and Spain along with Jr. A, Sr. A and
USport here at home have provided him with a wealth of knowledge and experience
from which to draw. Chris’ passion for
hockey and for teaching players is ideally suited to the Jr. Raiders philosophy
of player development. Chris’ approach
to coaching is to start with the basics and build from the foundation upwards,
paying attention to each player’s individual needs and giving them feedback and
points that they can practice on their own.
With
Cory and Chris leading our young players, the Jr. Raiders’ focus remains on
leading players to reach their full potential as individual players and as part
of a team. The Jr. Raiders continue to
be focused on the quality of our program and our coaches as opposed to the
number of teams we offer. While we grow
our program, we will not sacrifice quality and player development just to have
more teams.
To
register for our U8 and U9 tryouts, click on JR. RAIDERS U8 – U9 TRYOUTS