Adept in various areas of coaching and management, Daniel has and continues to hold responsibilities in the following disciplines; head coach, player development specialist, consultant, director, coach mentor, and CEO.
Elite youth athletes, professional hockey players, coaches, teams, hockey organizations, sports universities, and international hockey associations, have all benefited from Daniel's expertise and unique teaching style.
Daniel has spent the past two seasons as the Player Development Coach for historic hockey club SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL. His primary duties involve the oversight and implementation of a robust player development model to best develop all players within the SKA system. Additionally, Daniel assists the coaching staff with specific coaching responsibilities helping manage the overall delivery of the coaching framework.
Daniel has served as the Director of Player Development and Head Player Development Coach for the Russian Ice Hockey Federation since July 2018. He has integrated new development models within the framework of the RHF, including a yearly national team camp for the top defensemen in the national team pipeline. The Russian National Teams have enjoyed tremendous results during Daniel's tenure currently sitting in 2nd place behind Canada in the IIHF World Rankings.
Since 2017 Daniel continues to lead the Red Machine National Development Program. Daniel has traveled across Russia delivering educational lectures, seminars, and masterclasses intended to enhance capabilities in the next generation of Russian coaches. Additionally, Daniel has co-authored several national development manuals for both player and coach development in the country.
Daniel is one of the world's top hockey development coaches. He is often sought after to provide best in class player development opportunities to players, coaches, and hockey organizations the world over. He has worked with and alongside some of the NHL's top stars, including but not limited to; Alexander Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, Sidney Crosby, Artemi Panarin, Vince Dunn, John Tavares, Connor McDavid, and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Daniel was one of the twelve original coaches in all of Canada invited by Hockey Canada to take part in the inaugural High-Performance Skills Coach Development Program in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The program intends to source and develop the best skill coaches in Canada while providing continued education and a higher level of standards to the profession. Daniel has had the pleasure of working at Team Canada Development Camps with u15, u18, and The Canadian National Sledge Hockey Team.
Sharing his insights and intellectual capital, Daniel regularly speaks at platforms such as The World Hockey Forum, State Universities, Roger Nielsons Coaching Clinic, RHF Coaching Clinics, and Hockey Canada, among others. Daniel has co-authored five books on coaching and player development for the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. He is currently in the process of writing a new book on hockey slated for a North American release.
Daniel developed Universal Hockey's Elite Training System through his extensive research into international training systems utilized by elite hockey nations in North America & Europe, his professional playing experience and knowledge acquired from his former trainers & coaches, as well as his trademark creativity and innovation. Universal Hockey continues to set itself apart as a global leader in all aspects of player development.
Daniel has over eight years of AAA minor hockey coaching experience in the GTHL, the best and largest minor hockey league in the world. Leveraging his knowledge and ability to develop players, Daniel has coached and built programs that have gone on to win Pro Hockey Life Cups, Scotiabank Cups, numerous prestigious tournaments, and OHF Championships. Daniel last coached the Vaughan Kings 08 AAA team to an undefeated regular season record of 30-0-3. To date, over 30 players Daniel has coached on his minor hockey teams have gone on to be drafted in the OHL and NHL, respectively.
Daniel is a High-Performance certified coach and skills instructor with Hockey Canada. Also, he is a Registered Certified Professional Coach (NCCP# 5683943 ) with the Coaches Association of Canada and is in the process of receiving his Professional Coaching Designation. Daniel takes pride in his continued development as a coach and is always striving to improve his knowledge and educational base to serve the people around him better.