OKANAGAN HOCKEY ONTARIO staff
Paul Pascuzzi
General Manager
Pascuzzi has spent the past seven years working with individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in various roles, including ABA services at Donald A. Wilson Secondary School and providing social skills training to those in need.
The Whitby, Ont. product has been a head coach at the minor hockey level since 2010, most recently with the Clarington Midget AAA team from 2016-2018 after spending two seasons with the Whitby Midget AAA team. He was also the head of coach and player development for the 2017-2018 season.
Brad Tapper
Head Coach, U18 Prep
Tapper joined Okanagan Hockey Ontario from the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Grand Rapids Griffins where he served as an assistant coach. Prior to joining the Griffins, the Whitby, Ont. native was the Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations with the Adirondack Thunder of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) during the 2017-18 season. Tapper has also served as an Assistant Coach with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and Rochester Americans, as well as the ECHL’s Florida Everblades and Orlando Solar Bears. As a player, Tapper spent nine years playing professional hockey, including 71 games in the NHL with the Atlanta Thrashers and 132 games in the AHL where he won a Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in 2002. Prior to turning pro, Tapper was a second team All-American student athlete at Rensselaer Polytech Institute (RPI) from 1997 to 2000, registering 116 points (65-51-116) in 106 games.
Mark Fitzgerald
Manager of Strength/Conditioning & Human Performance
Mark Fitzgerald has spent the last 15 years working with athletes from a variety of sports at every level. He began his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and also became the Head of Performance and Nutrition for the Canadian Hockey League. Most recently, Fitzgerald was the Head of Performance for the Anaheim Ducks. Fitzgerald is the founder of Elite Training Systems in Ontario, which has grown to four locations servicing athletes from all major and minor sports. Fitzgerald also serves as a consultant for a number of health and performance organizations including Under Armour, CHL, Ontario Tech University, and Toronto Aeros Rugby.
Mike Duco
Skills Development Coach
Duco was an assistant coach for the Peterborough Petes of the OHL during the 2017-18 season after serving as a head coach with the ECHL's Elmira Jackals the previous season. On top of his duties with the Petes, he also was involved with the Peterborough Minor Hockey Association as a skills development coach and player evaluator.
The Toronto, Ont. product enjoyed an extensive nine-year professional playing career that saw him play 18 games in the NHL with the Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks, 267 games in the AHL, as well as time spent in the ECHL and Europe. Duco played parts of five seasons in the OHL with the Kitchener Rangers, where he was part of the 2008 J. Ross Robertson Cup winning team as OHL champions.
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In 2010 I was fortunate enough to play at the Okanagan Hockey Academy on the Midget Prep team. With coaches like Robert Dirk and Greg Holst it was an unbelievable year. I have to this day still never been on such a close-knit team. It was my first year of midget hockey and that meant a lot more travel. Playing in the CSSHL I got the opportunity to play in some pretty awesome spots. The league helped me learn to stay on top of school, which has helped me not only in college but also in junior. I was able to make an easy jump to junior and college academically with the help of Dave Nackoney, a guidance counselor at Penticton Secondary School who works with all the student athletes. To this day if I need anything he is always more than willing to help. It is the great staff that left such an impression on me, and made it possible for me to be where I am today.