Meet Our Team
Rick Cornacchia
Founder
Rick Cornacchia brings to NTR Richmond Hill 30+ years of high-level hockey instructing experience. He was the head coach for the Italian National Senior Men's Ice Hockey team. In 1992 he was the head coach for the Canadian National World Juniors Ice Hockey Team. In 1990, he lead his team the Oshawa Generals to become Memorial Cup Champions. With 11+ years coaching experience in the OHL, Rick previously coached in the GTHL AAA & Tier 2 JR. A. He was also a high school teacher for 8 years, with a BPHE and BA in Education.
Ben Alavie
Chief Operating Officer, NTR Richmond Hill & Newmarket
Ben oversees the operations at our Richmond Hill and Newmarket locations. Previously, Ben had been the manager of NTR Newmarket for six years. Ben graduated from York University with a degree in Psychology focusing on Sport Psychology. Ben was also a AAA Head and Assistant Coach for the Richmond Hill Coyotes organization for seven years. Previous to this, between 2007-2010 he played for the Brampton Battalion in the OHL.
Geordan Traverse
Manager
Geordan grew up in Hanover, Ontario, where he played for the Hanover Falcons throughout his minor hockey career. He attended the Sport Administration program at Georgian College in Barrie. During his time in Barrie, he worked at NTR Barrie for over two years as a league convenor and on-ice instructor. In September 2019, he was hired as a manager at NTR Richmond Hill.
Ryan Olidis
General Manager
Graduated from Niagara University with a HBA in Sports Management, Ryan was the captain of the Niagara Purple Eagles Men's Hockey team with a NCAA DI Scholarship. Previous to his professional hockey career in Germany, he played in the OPJHL Provincial Junior A for the Markham Waxers. Ryan is certified by Hockey Canada with his NCCP Development 1 and GTHL "Speak out" - respect in sport certified coaching. With over 8 years of high-level hockey instruction experience, he is heavily involved in the hockey community as a GTHL AAA coach and OMHA team skill development coach.
Koen Heinrich
Head Instructor
Koen is a recent graduate of Humber College where he earned a degree in Sport Management. During his time at school Koen played for the Humber Hawks in the OCR where he won 3 straight provincial championships. Koen’s journey also includes playing for the Richmond Hill Stars and the Markham Waxers where he won an OHF Championship in his last year of U18 Hockey in 2022. With a wealth of experience of rep levels of hockey, Koen is also actively coaching in the Richmond Hill Hockey Association.
Anna Price
Skill Development
Evan Kotsopoulos
Skill Development
Leah Balkovec
Learn to Skate
&
Adult Learn to Skate
Angelina Di Tacchio
Learn to Skate
&
Adult Learn to Skate
Ethan Smagaren
Skill Development
Luke Balkovec
Skill Development
Micaela Sotirakos
Learn to Skate
&
Adult Learn to Skate
Evan Fiala
Skill Development
Steve Young
Skill Development
Stephanie Yousef
Learn to Skate
&
Adult Learn to Skate