Meeting the new head coach of the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs: Ayrton Nikkel

Photo Credit: Tami Quan.

It’s been a coaching carousel in the past two years, in dealing with divorce and promotions to Switzerland, but the Bonnyville Jr. A Pontiacs are giving the reins to a 28-year-old, hungry, young hockey mind.

Ayrton Nikkel was formally announced as the new Yaks bench boss on May 13. He made his first pilgrimage to Bonnyville this week, arranging his office and getting a tour of the town, before he moves in mid-July.

First impressions? Glowing.

“The rink itself, I think, is a perfect junior rink. I think the setup is great for the staff, and I think it’s gonna be great for the players as well. The dressing room is top notch. It’s got all the technology we need to really develop players through on-ice and through video,” Nikkel told Lakeland Connect in his first interview since being hired on Thursday. 

An Okanagan native, Peachland is home for Nikkel, roughly a 30 minute drive from Kelowna. Named after the F1 driver Ayrton Senna, Nikkel played 240 games in the Western Hockey League, making stops in Saskatoon, Brandon, Everett, and Swift Current.

But since he’s been as assistant coach for the West Kelowna Warriors of the BCHL for five seasons, the last two of which in an associate general manager role to boot.

“I think development and winning go hand in hand. If you learn to win and we have success, then everybody develops.”

He comes into a role that saw instability since GMs Chad Nelson and Neil Langridge took the reins, somewhat victims by circumstance. Brad Flynn was hired by in the summer of 2022 as a first time head coach, but family issues forced him back to Ontario before he could coach one regular season game.

Then came accomplished Memorial Cup winner in Mario Pouliot, who after a season and a half and a North Division final trip, was called on by HC Sierre in the Swiss pro league. With assistants Darick Ste-Marie and Ryan Blocha filling the gaps, the organization rolled the dice by bringing in Devan Praught two weeks before the playoffs, who had been axed by the Swift Current Broncos earlier that season.

The Yaks were swept, Praught sought CHL opportunities, and here we are.

“I got a phone call from Chad [Nelson] in the early springtime there,” said Nikkel. 

“I thought it was time to move on and try and make something really work as a head coach. The opportunity with such a historic franchise and such a great franchise in a good city with the fan support that they have, I thought it was a really good opportunity to continue to build on the culture that is already here, and try and lead to success as a head coach as well.”

Philosophy

In a fractious junior hockey world these days, the competition for talent is high. Being in those recruiting conversations at West Kelowna allows Nikkel to feel comfortable working alongside GMs Chad Nelson and Neil Langridge in the construction of the upcoming season’s roster. It’s one that will be a lot different than in recent seasons.

“I like a nice balance of age and youth that are hungry. The first thing for me is having good people around. I think that’s a philosophy that comes from Chad and Neil as well. 

“I want everyone to be hungry to come to the rink every single day. That comes from the people that you’re around every day. We see each other every day for the next 10 months or whatever it is, so you have to be a second family, and that’s the most important thing for me. On the ice, I just want to see some non-negotiables, some work ethic things. After that, we kind of see where the pieces fall.”

The staff is rounding out with the Pontiacs’ hiring a new athletic therapist in Dylan O’Connor, but have yet to officially announce an assistant coach, as well as an assistant coach that will act as head coach of the new U13AAA team that the Pontiacs’ are running.

One thing is for sure: Nikkel recognizes the opportunity he’s receiving and is hungry to make his time in Bonnyville a successful one.

“I think development and winning go hand in hand. If you learn to win and we have success, then everybody develops. I develop, and I win, and I move on as well. My ultimate goal is to coach professionally and move on to the NHL one day. If the players come in with the same mentality that they want to develop, they want to win hockey games, and they want to move on, then we all succeed, and then we can all move on.” 

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