CALGARY, Alta. – Two long-standing executives at Hockey Canada have joined the executive leadership team alongside CEO Tom Renney, president and chief operating officer Scott Smith, chief financial officer Brian Cairo, and chief business development officer Mike Ross.

Effective July 1, Glen McCurdie (Manotick, Ont.) was promoted to senior vice-president, insurance and risk management. McCurdie previously held the role of vice-president, membership services, and will continue to oversee the safety, regulations, transfers, and insurance programs for the organization. He first joined Hockey Canada in 1988 as a manager, and has increased his responsibilities and portfolio throughout his 30-year tenure. 

Scott Salmond (Creston, B.C.) was also promoted effective July 1 to the role of senior vice-president, national teams. Previously, Salmond was vice-president of hockey operations and men’s national teams, a role he assumed in June 2014 during which time he helped lead Canada to gold medals at two IIHF World Junior Championships and two IIHF World Championships, one IPC World Para Hockey Championship, a World Cup of Hockey championship, and a Spengler Cup three-peat. Salmond joined Hockey Canada in 2001 and has held increasingly senior roles in high-performance during his tenure with the organization. 

“Glen and Scott have been tremendous assets to Hockey Canada, and we’re proud to recognize their contributions and growing breadth of responsibilities with not only a change in title, but by also welcoming them to the executive leadership team,” said Smith. “Hockey Canada prides itself in delivering gold-medal performances on and off the ice, and our employees all play a role in that delivery of excellence. Glen and Scott have been a part of our organizational success, and we look forward to having them continue to play impactful roles as mentors and leaders in our organization.”

As part of Salmond’s promotion, Hockey Canada has formed a new National Teams department, bringing about a series of leadership and structural changes to the former men’s and women’s high-performance departments. 

Shawn Bullock (Wainwright, Alta.) will now oversee the men’s program in the role of director, national teams – men’s, while Gina Kingsbury (Rouyn-Noranda, Que.) will lead the women’s program as director, national teams – women’s. 

Bullock previously held the position of senior manager of hockey operations and men’s national teams for four years, and has been with Hockey Canada since September 2008. He most recently led Canada’s National Junior Team at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship in Buffalo, N.Y., capturing a gold-medal.

Kingsbury has been director, women’s national teams for the last three years. She has been part of the Hockey Canada staff since July 2015 and assisted in managing the women’s high-performance department through the Olympic centralization period as well as during the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. Kingsbury claimed two Olympic gold medals as a player with Canada’s National Women’s Team (2006, 2010). 

Both Bullock and Kingsbury will be responsible for the overall vision and objectives for men’s and women’s national teams, respectively, and will work directly with Salmond.

“Shawn and Gina have worked tirelessly over the years to ensure Hockey Canada’s men’s and women’s programs operate at a world-class level, and to ensure the gold standard of success we are consistently striving for,” said Salmond. “We are excited to bring together our men’s and women’s programs under the collective National Teams department, and I look forward to working alongside Shawn and Gina as we lead our national teams in the future.”

As a result of the formation of the new National Teams department, Melody Davidson (Oyen, Alta.) has transitioned to the role of head scout, national teams – women’s, where she will work with Kingsbury and continue to recruit personnel for all national women’s teams. Davidson has been with Hockey Canada since July 2004, and most recently served as general manager, national women’s team programs. She also coached Canada’s National Women’s Team to two Olympic gold medals (2006, 2010), and won gold as an assistant coach at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. 

“Mel has been a leading force in growing the women’s game not just in Canada, but internationally, and we look forward to having her continue to be a strong asset to our high-performance department in her role as head scout for the women’s teams,” said Smith. “Her dedication to Hockey Canada and to women’s hockey is unparalleled, and our program will continue to benefit from her involvement. We worked closely with Mel and Scott in determining the new high-performance structure at Hockey Canada, and fully support her transition to focus on scouting after dedicating so many years at the helm of the women’s national team programs.” 

Hockey Canada is also well along in its process of recruiting three positions to support the organization’s mission of delivering positive hockey experiences across the country. Postings for the positions of vice-president, grow the game, vice-president, operations, and vice-president, member engagement recently closed, and the organization looks forward to sharing details on those roles in the near future. 

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