Coach Bertrand joins our coaching staff with over 15 years coaching experience under his belt. He has experience with the U-17 Hockey Canada program for two years as a selection coach with OMHA. Last Season Clayton was an Associate Coach with the West Division Champions Rayside-Balfour Canadians. Coach Bertrand will be looking to bring his NOJHL Championship run experience from last season to the Express this year. Clayton has been married for 25 years to Christine and has three kids Zak, Amanda and TJ. He is also a Sales Manager for Molson Coors in Northern Ontario for the past 22 years.
Assistant Coach – Vagelli Sakellaris
Coach Sakellaris has spent the past two seasons with the Rayside-Balfour Canadians as an Assistant Coach and this past season enjoyed a playoff drive that lead him to the NOJHL Championship series. He has previously been an Assistant/Associate coach with the Sudbury Nickel Capital Wolves midget AAA team and guided them to a Telus Cup Championship, Canada’s National Midget AAA Championship in 2008. As a player Vagelli appeared in the Telus Cup then known as the Air Canada Cup and lost in the Championship Game. He is a teacher at Lasalle Secondary School in Sudbury and is married to his wife Tara and they have two young children at home.
New Equipment Manager – Brian Workman
A junior hockey legend in his own right, Brian has been involved with Junior Hockey for over 25 years with franchises in Sudbury and Rayside-Balfour. Brian has been selected as team Equipment Manager for every Team NOJHL appearance at the Central Canada Cup, a mid season league all star showcase tournament between the Central Canada Junior A leagues. Earlier this summer Brian was awarded with a NOJHL life time membership award for his long term dedication and outstanding service to junior hockey.
New Team Trainer – Chris Seguin
This is Chris’ second season training in the NOJHL and first with the Express. Chris has trained at various levels of minor hockey, as well as sports outside of hockey. Most recently, Chris was a trainer at the 2016 and 2017 NOHA U-15 Development Weekends and with Team NOHA at The OHL Cup and The OHL Gold Cup in the Spring of 2017 and 2018.
Raised in Sudbury, Chris resides in Val Caron with his wife, Kelly and son, Owen, and their many four-legged family members. Chris is a graduate of Laurentian University’s Bachelor of Social Work program and is employed with The Canadian Veterans Vocational Rehabilitation Service.
New Director of Sales and Game Promotions – Grant Trayner
Grant is a recent graduate of the Sports Administration program at Laurentian University in Sudbury. He has gained valuable marketing, account management and sales experience with the Canadian Paralympic Committee, ECCO Golf and Northern Ontario Railroad Museum & Heritage Centre.
Before joining the Express he was AN Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations of the Rayside-Balfour Canadians and Sudbury Nickel Barons. He also sits on the board of the Big Nickel International “AAA” Hockey Tournament in Sudbury.
