With announce of assistant coach Chad Taylor, the Pontiacs staff is set

Chad Carder, left, Ayrton Nikkel, middle, Chad Taylor, right. The 2024-25 Pontiacs coaching staff. Images: Bonnyville Pontiacs, Tami Quan, and 

With the start of training camp just days away, the Pontiacs have announced the staff for the years, featuring a Chad-laden group.

The head coach is Ayrton Nikkel, a 28-year-old rookie as bench boss, who spent the past five seasons as an assistant with the West Kelowna Warriors. The club announced on Friday that his right hand man will be Chad Carder, a colleague in West Kelowna, who spent 11 seasons with the Warriors as a goalie and skills coach.

Then the third behind the bench is Chad Taylor, whose primary responsibility is the new Bonnyville U13 AAA Yaks elite team, but will also be another set of eyes and hands to work with the 2024-25 Bonnyville Pontiacs.

“I would just like to thank the Pontiacs organization for giving me this opportunity,“ said Pontiacs assistant coach Chad Carder in a press release. “I have always been someone who works hard to develop players on and off the ice. The hockey rink is my second home (or first, if you ask my wife), I always try to create a positive, fun culture around the rink and in the community.” 

The hopes from general managers Neil Langridge and Chad Nelson is to solidify a young and hungry staff, stabilize, and be competitive in the new look, 12-team Alberta Junior Hockey League.

Carder was a part of the West Kelowna team in 2015-16, which went on to win the BCHL, Western Canada Cup, and the RBC Cup (currently the Centennial Cup).

He brings over a decade of goalie coach specific experience, something that the team has lacked in the day-to-day for years.

Carder also played junior from 2006-2010. In that time, he played for the Olds Grizzlys and Grande Prairie Storm of the AJHL as well as the Nanaimo Clippers of the BCHL. He was awarded Goaltender of the Year with the Grande Prairie Storm in 2009 and helped lead them to their second AJHL championship in franchise history.

The Pontiacs U13 Elite Development Camp and the U15 Young Futures Camp is this week. Fans can also look forward to meeting the entire Pontiacs staff and players off the ice Saturday, August 24th, at the Pontiacs Annual 2 Person Scramble Golf Tournament.

Golf Tournament