2023/24 Head Coaches
The Executive Committee of the E. O. Wild, together with the HEO Technical Director has approved the following Head Coaches for the 2023-24 season. Thank you to our board executives and the independent interviewers that spent numerous hours helping us achieve this.
U12 - Francis Wathier
U13 - Jake McDermott
U14 - Chris Robillard
U15 Zach Gillam
The E. O. Wild is pleased to announce Zach Gillam has been selected as our U15 Head Coach. Coach Zach has been coaching Tier 1 hockey in the Eastern Ontario region for over a decade. The son of two teachers, he has developed his own teaching skills in order to pass his knowledge of our game onto the younger generations he coaches. In addition to coaching, Zach spends a lot of his time working on skill development. He is a Hockey Canada Certified Skills Coach and is the owner of SPS Hockey Development. Through that, he’s had the privilege of working with some incredible athletes, ranging from professionals to U10. One of the highlights of Coach Zach’s coaching career was winning the U15 Championship and attending the Provincial Championships with the 2002 Ottawa 67’s AAA team. Coach Zach is thrilled to be joining the Wild organization and you can find him on Twitter and Instagram at @ZachGillam94 and @zach.gillam respectively.
U16 - Dave Byrne
The E. O. Wild is pleased to announce Dave Byrne as the Head Coach of our new U16 division. Coach Byrne, is in his sixth season with the Eastern Ontario Wild and will be returning as Head Coach of this pinnacle program/division. Coach Dave values his role as a teacher and always puts a premium on player development, both on and off the ice. His attention to detail, high standards, and creative ways to communicate with players allow him to get the most out of an athlete while at the same time driving team success.
U18 - Steve Malette & Steve Norton
Steve Norton with over 17 years of minor hockey coaching experience, and 5 years at the Tier 1 level, coach Steve was most recently the assistant coach of the Gatineau Flames in the JrAAA league. Having many highlights and much success over his years of coaching, his most notable was his 2021/2022 season. He coached his U15 AAA Myers team to a league playoff championship and a silver medal at the Provincial Championships. Coach Norton coaches for his players and for the passion he has for the sport. His focus is on helping all of his players obtain their hockey goals and dreams. He takes pride in helping athletes further develop their skills, passion, determination, dedication, discipline, leadership skills, and work ethic. He fosters and promotes respect for others in both competitions and in life.
Steve Malette With 19 years of coaching experience within the National Capital Region coach Malette has spent the past 8 seasons as head coach of the very successful Ottawa Jr. Sens (OJS) U18 AAA program. He led his teams to two 1st place regular season titles and finalist in the recent 2023 Road to the Regional Telus Cup Playoff Championships. During HEO’s inaugural U18 AAA season (2015/16), Steve was a recipient of the Coach of the Year Award.
Coach Malette is no stranger to the E. O. Wild organization. He spent 2 seasons as head coach of the Wild’s U18AAA teams during the 2013/14 & 2014/15 seasons and, 2 seasons as head coach of the Wild’s Minor Bantam (2010/11) & Bantam(2011/12) teams, capturing back-2-back League Championships and semi-finalist at the 2012 All-Ontario Bantam Championships.
Coach Steve’s coaching philosophy is to provide players with a program that instills the required commitment, structure, and development to succeed at the next level. Coach Malette’s program under the OJS banner promoted 50% of the players to ultimately reach the Jr. A level (CCHL, OHL, NCAA), and is looking to continue this success with the Wild’s U18 AAA program.
Philip Jago. There are no words that can describe what Phil Jago means to a hockey team. If your athlete ever had the privilege of having Phil you know. If he or she hasn’t they will be spoiled for life. No one works harder to prepare a group of athletes ensuring they are ready for practice or game time. His resume dates back to 1994 and most notable for us, it is our pleasure to welcome him back to the Wild family. He was involved with our 1999 birth year Wild Major Bantam (U15) and Minor Midget (U16) teams. Phil has spent the last several years at the U18 level with the Gloucester Rangers and Rockland Nationals.
