Hockey Staff
Mike Vandekamp
Head Coach & General Manager
The Cowichan Capitals are pleased to announce the hiring of Mike Vandekamp as the team’s new General Manager and Head Coach. Mike brings a wealth of experience to the Capitals, with 24 season of Junior Hockey in the BCHL, WHL and AJHL, having coached over 1500 games. Mike has taken his teams to the finals 8 times, and most recently spent 7 seasons as the head Coach of the Nanaimo Clippers.
Mike has been married to his wife Lana for 17 years and they have two children, Carter who will soon be 15 and Katie who is turning 13. Lana volunteered many hours helping with Parents Weekend and social functions; she is looking forward to being part of the Capitals Family.
Dan Whiteford
Assistant Coach
Chris Carter (Goaltending Coach)
Chris Carter returns to the Capitals as the teams goaltending coach for the 2019/20 season, his fourth in the BCHL. Chris spent the last two seasons with the Powell River Kings before rejoining the Capitals. Chris has been a professional goaltending coach for 13 years and owns Great Saves Goaltending which offers private lessons, small group lessons and other services on Vancouver Island. Chris lives in Nanaimo with his wife and three children. He also runs Great Saves Goaltending.
Jordan Brucks (Athletic Therapist/Strength & Conditioning Coach)
Justis Doucet (Play-by-Play Broadcast)
Justis Doucet graduated the British Columbia Institute of Technology in May of 2017 with a degree in broadcast journalism. While at school he broadcasted high school basketball provincials, a handful of Pacific Junior Hockey League games, and spent two months as a broadcast intern with the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals. Prior to attending school, he was the play-by-play voice for the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League’s Kerry Park Islanders for two seasons.
All fifty-eight Cowichan Capitals regular season games can be heard on 89.7 Juice FM, along with internet broadcasts on HockeyTV.com.
Pastor Kevin VanderVeen (Team Chaplin)
Kevin VanderVeen is the Pastor of Duncan Christian Reformed Church, which is a small church here in Duncan. Kevin volunteers as the team Chaplin, offering spiritual and emotional support and encouragement to the team. Kevin is happy to be part of the team and he loves working with the whole Cowichan Capitals family. Feel free to stop and chat with him at the games. We are excited to have Kevin join the Capitals Family this year and look forward to creating many new memories with our Team.
Brian Passmore (Hockey Development)