For those of you who may not know me, I have been teaching hockey in some way or another for over 14 years. Before moving to Ottawa in 2002, I was honing my skills as an instructor in Sydney, NS. My love of coaching really started when I took on a head-coaching job with the Major Midget AA Cape Breton County Minor Hockey Islanders in 1999. From here, I was involved in the Cape Breton County Minor Hockey Association (CBCMHA) in many different capacities, including development coordinator, member of the coach selection committee, founder and director of an annual hockey camp (now it its 11th year, operating under the AMHD banner), goaltender consultant for the entire association, and, of course, head coach for many different teams. Throughout my 6-year tenure with CBCMHA, I had the opportunity to share in many great experiences and achievements. In my first year as a coach, our team went on a 27-game unbeaten streak (a league record at the time). My Minor Junior team won the Nova Scotia Provincial Championships in 2001. During my term as development coordinator, CBCMHA was voted the number one association in Nova Scotia, and I was honoured when I was voted CBCMHA “Coach of the Year” in 2001.

I branched out on my own to start Andrew Mercer Hockey Development in 2003, and have turned my focus onto developing training specifically for goaltenders. Being a goaltender myself, it has been my experience and observations that teams' goaltenders often get overlooked and tend to be used as targets during practices. It was for this reason, among others, that I decided I wanted to pursue my passion and offer training programs and experiences to encourage my students to work hard and never give up.

Since my arrival in Ottawa, I served as Assistant Coach and Goalie Coach with Carleton University's Men's Hockey team from 2002-2004. Over the last few years, I have delivered the goaltending development programs for 2 major “AA” associations in the Ottawa area, as well as having worked with several other minor hockey associations and teams, including the Brockville Braves Jr. “A” team, something I have been enjoying since 2005.

In addition to providing my own camps through the summer months and March Break, I have had the opportunity to assist in several high-profile camps in Canada and the United States. Starting in 2005, I have assisted in the annual David Marcoux School of Goaltending camp (David is the goalie coach for the Calgary Flames), held each July in Ottawa, and I have been invited to visit David in Calgary in the summer of 2008 to work with him in his camp there. In March 2007, AMHD was invited to New Jersey to put on a camp at the Skylands Ice World. The 3-day camp was a great success, and we’re looking forward to offering another camp there this coming spring. In July 2007, I had the opportunity to work in the Superskills Goaltending Consultant Group Prospects Camp, held in Manchester, New Hampshire. The lead instructor for this group is Brian Daccord, the former goalie coach for the Boston Bruins. The camp was a fantastic experience, and I look forward to continuing my participation with this dynamic group. I also had the chance to “join forces” locally, having had the opportunity to assist Tom Dempsey, goalie coach for the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, during one of his summer camps in 2007, held at the Bell Sensplex. I am very excited to be involved with all of these extraordinary goalie coaches and to be able to share ideas and philosophies with them. It is a great way for me to continue my learning and to realize new experiences to share with my students.


Every good businessman knows that a business is only as good as its employees. This is especially true at AMHD, where we have an incredible staff of shooters and goalies all willing and able to help our students with any problems they may be having, but never forgetting that reassuring tap on the pads. I am proud of the staff at AMHD, and consider each one valued member of our team.

Click on the a name below to see more about each of our staff.