Head Coach: Peter Goulet
Peter Goulet (Kingston, ON) has been a full-time hockey coach for 20 years and has won championships with the Nepean Raiders in 2012 in the CCHL, and the Kingston Voyageurs in 2009 in the OJHL.
Most recently Goulet was with the Trenton Golden Hawks of the Ontario Junior 'A' Hockey League as head coach and general manager where he recorded a regular-season record of 76-26-6 from 2019 to 2022.
Goulet's impressive hockey resume also includes stints as an assistant coach with the ECHL's Brampton Beast, assistant coach with Team Canada East in 2019 and 2023, along with major junior scouting duties with the Mississauga Steelheads and Halifax Mooseheads.
Goulet has six players who have played in the National Hockey League including MacKenzie Weegar, Ben Hutton, Ryan Johnson, Buddy Robinson, Scott Harrington and goaltender Dan Altshuler.
Goulet has placed players at NCAA D-1 schools including Cornell, North Eastern, Clarkson, Union, Providence, Uconn, Maine, Robert Morris, Colorado College, Colgate, Lake Superior State, West Point, and RPI.
Goulet has also placed many other players in D-3 and CIS schools along with many players on Major Junior teams within the OHL and QMJHL.
Phone: (613) 889-0902 Email: p_goulet@hotmail.com
Assistant Coach: Vitali Yachmenev
Former NHLer Vitali Yachmenev has been hired as an assistant coach to begin the 2024-25 season.
As a player, Yachmenev put up more than 200 points in two seasons of junior hockey in North Bay and helped the North Bay Centennials capture an OHL championship in 1994.
Yachmenev went on to play eight seasons in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators before finishing off his playing career in the KHL. In his rookie season in LA he played on a line with NHL legend Wayne Gretzky.
Yachmenev also brings with him seven years of coaching experience from the Kontinental Hockey League in Russia and spent a portion of a season as an associate coach with the Powassan Voodoos in 2018.
Yachmenev is very familiar with the Voodoos organization. Not only did he help as an assistant coach for a portion of the 2017-18 season, he also had his son Tomas play 3 seasons with the Voodoos.
General Manager and President of Hockey Operations: Chris Dawson
Chris Dawson (Lethbridge, AB)
Dawson took on the role of General Manager with the Powassan Voodoos back when the franchise was born in the summer of 2014.
Prior to working with the Voodoos, Dawson served as General Manager for the North Bay Jr. Trappers, winning the NOJHL title in 2013. In addition, he was named NOJHL Director of the Year in 2010-2011.
During his time with the Voodoos, Dawson helped assemble the team that won the NOJHL championship in 2016-2017 and has been named NOJHL General Manager of the Year twice, in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Dawson was also named as the GM on the NOJHL's third All-Star team in 2023-24.
Chris currently resides in North Bay, ON with his wife Lee Anne, daughter Leah and son Caleb.
Phone: (705) 497-4371 Email: powassanvoodoos@gmail.com
Goaltending Coach: Andrew Besseau
Andrew Besseau (Bracebridge, ON) recalls his first season of AA hockey, and his coaches name was Peter Goulet with the St. Lawrence Kings in the Hockey Eastern Ontario (HEO).
Fast forward to 2023, and Besseau is working for Goulet as a goalie coach for the Powassan Voodoos. The 35-year-old, who lives in Bracebridge, took on the position with the Voodoos in the summer of 2022.
Besseau, who has been coaching goalies off and on for the past decade, says his highlight was being selected in the U16 CJHL Draft by his hometown Smith Falls Bears.
He still plays the game but loves teaching goalies at the NOJHL level.
Associate General Manager & Director of Scouting: Brent Tomlinson
Brent Tomlinson (Bracebridge, ON) has spent many years and various roles with the Voodoos and currently holds the position of Associate General Manager and Director of Scouting. He previously served as an assistant coach with Powassan for two seasons, helping guide the team to their first NOJHL championship in the spring of 2017.
From 2017 to 2019, Brent served as the General Manager and Co-Head Coach of the Huntsville Otters, the Voodoos Junior 'C' affiliate team. Tomlinson has also served as the Northern Ontario Scout for the Niagara Ice Dogs and Erie Otters.
Brent currently lives in Bracebridge, ON with his wife Kelly and their two sons, Tucker and Barrett.
Phone: (705) 641-9073 Email: brentvoodooshockey@gmail.com
North America Scout - Billy Griffiths
Billy Griffiths (Ottawa, ON) joined the Voodoos in the summer of 2022 as North America Scout.
Griffiths joins the Voodoos as he continues his long hockey relationship with Peter Goulet, the new Voodoos head coach and VP of Hockey Operations. Griffiths has been working with Goulet since 2010 with Nepean, Kingston, Brampton, Trenton and now the Voodoos in 2022.
The Ottawa product will travel in Ontario, across Canada and even into the United States, as he seeks out future Voodoos talent.
Griffiths is excited to join the Voodoos to start a new chapter in his hockey scouting career.
Cell: (613) 286-9537 Email: billgriffiths123@yahoo.ca
North America Scout - Kerwin O'Neil
Kerwin O'Neil (Smith Falls, ON) - as a player O'Neil was invited to the Pittsburgh Penguins affiliate team, as well as played semi-pro for the Schenectady Chiefs in the ACHL, 2 years overseas, was drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the OHL and played Junior ‘A’ for the Smiths Falls Bears.
O'Neil was head instructor at Rideau Lakes Hockey School in Smiths Falls for 10 years and was owner, president and manager of the Richmond Royals and Stittsville Royals.
Joined Peter Goulet and Bill Griffiths in 2015 and is in his 6th year of scouting in Ontario, across Canada and the United States looking for talented players to join the Voodoos. O'Neil is excited to join the Voodoos to start a new chapter in his hockey scouting career.
Cell: (613) 284-7336 Email: koneil7@hotmail.com
