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By Victor Kaisar

Blazers Staff

Blazers announce several changes to hockey operations staff ahead of 2025-26 WHL season

Jun 28, 2025 | 10:15 AM

KAMLOOPS — The Kamloops Blazers have made a number of changes to their hockey operations staff ahead of the 2025-26 WHL season.

Friday (June 27) afternoon, the team announced the hiring of Taylor Cochrane as Athletic Therapist. Cochrane has spent the last past three seasons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League with Bonnyville and Camrose

Cochrane will join the Blazers full-time over the summer and will take over from Rebecca Kuresh, who left earlier this year after two seasons in Kamloops.

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Elsewhere, Dan De Palma, who will be going into his 17th season with the Blazers, has been promoted to Director of Goaltending Development.

While he will continue in his role as goaltending coach – where he’s helped develop players like Connor Ingram, Dylan Ferguson, and Dylan Garand – De Palma will also oversee aspects of goaltending for the Kamloops Blazers.

He will be assisted by the new Goaltending Consultant/BC Scout Lucas Gore as well as his son, Bailey, who has working as an Assistant Goaltending Coach for the past few seasons.

Gore, a Kamloops native, joins his hometown team after five seasons as a Goaltending Coach with the Spokane Chiefs. He also played four seasons for the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins (now the Victoria Royals) between 2008 and 2011.

As for scouts, the Blazers have added Kamloops native Mike DeAngelis as Head U.S. Scout and Alec Rudh as a Minnesota Scout. DeAngelis has coached in the Phoenix Jr. Coyotes program for a number of seasons, and has previously worked for the Blazers as a U.S. Scout.

B.C. Scout Saylor Preston has also been promoted as the Director of Hockey Strategy. He will continue his scouting role, though the Blazers say as part of his new role, he will use data and research to provide more analysis in regards to drafting and planning.

These personnel changes come a couple of weeks after the Blazers announced the hiring of Kamloops native Steve Marr as well as Brayden Toma as a full-time assistant coaches. Those two hirings came after the team announced the departure of Don Hay and Chris Murray.

Earlier Friday, the Kelowna Rockets announced the hiring of the 71-year-old Hay as an Associate Coach for the 2025-2026 campaign.