Kyle Allard’s love for hockey comes from his family. He started playing as early as 4 years old, just trying to keep up with his older brothers. He played junior growing up but eventually he ended up taking a break from it. Later in life he stopped playing hockey but he began his impressive coaching career.
Allard was born and raised in Petawawa, Ontario and comes from a family of 13 and a family full of hockey players. He started his junior career at age 15 with Brockville (CCHL) and went on to play with a number of teams, all of which allowed him to showcase his talent and love for the sport.
Now Allard is an elite Performance Coach with Perfect Skating where he trains minor to NHL athletes as well as develops coaches. He is also the CEO of Perfect Skating Durham Inc and owner of the Durham Mustangs.
Kyle Allard’s brother Shawn Allard founded Perfect Skating which teaches over 350 NHL athletes per year as well as minor players. Sean gave the passion for player development to Kyle and together they work on the development of hockey players.
Allard is a proud entrepreneur and businessman and brought this into the world of owning and coaching hockey. He loves building relationships with others and being a leader for future athletes and other coaches.
For Allard a big reason why he loves coaching and being an owner in hockey is to help build the game. He emphasises the importance of keeping hockey focused around the athletes and to help them.
“It has to be about the athletes and the kids and to love the sport that we do and to grow it and to evolve with the game… Everything about the game keeps getting better, faster, more skilled and how do we do that for the young ages coming up in the system.
Allard has a really big love and passion for hockey that he brings with him to his franchise everyday. He enjoys all the aspects of owning a franchise, whether it is talking on the phone with player development or doing video clips. But what he loves the most is being able to share his love for the sport.
“I love talking on the phone with player development, with our coaches… doing video clips… just being on the ice with these guys and teaching more coaches to deliver our methods…I got three boys coming up that I want to give the best to as well and teach them the proper methods… I just want the best for every athlete.”
Allard got involved with the KSL because he used to train Kris Versteeg when he was playing pro. Through this, he and Kris became good friends and Kris thought Allard would be a good fit for the KSL.
“I’m glad to be a part of it. It’s just awesome seeing these young kids grow, play full ice hockey and develop the right way through the KSL”
The way Allard approaches coaching is about accountability and hard work. He also is about showcasing that effort to his players by always being on the ice and doing the drills full out just like the athletes.
“I get the best out of every athlete that works with us… if you see me on the ice I do the reps at high tempo, high energy.
He also pays close attention to details and takes that into account when working with his players. Allard puts a big focus around always striving to improve and trying to better his athletes as all around hockey players. There are some skills he pays extra attention to like skating, movement and hockey IQ.
“I’m very detailed with what I do and why I do it. Every kid is a bit different, how they play, and you know try to bring those elite skills out even more of an athlete.
When trying to keep athletes in his organization motivated he puts a big emphasis on energy and the culture of the group. He mixes having high energy while also constantly pushing the kids to keep them engaged.
“I’m a true believer of energy creates energy… I’m always an energizer… we’re [also] all about love. I give an athlete a high five or hug on the ice when they do a good job and when they do a bad rep, this is when we need to fix it and be accountable… you kind of feel everyone’s personality… you have to have different coaching styles sometimes with different athletes.”
Allard wants to be remembered as a coach who pushes athletes to always try to improve and creates a space where all the players are able to love playing hockey. He prioritizes building a good culture and environment within the Durham Mustangs and Perfect Skating.
“It is all about the culture and the positive culture we [have] with all our guys. And how we teach it and how we deliver it… We’re growing the sport. We want kids to come back, we want kids to love it and we want kids to get better.”
Kyle Allard continues to bring his longtime passion for hockey and his immense knowledge of player development and training to the hockey world. He is another reason why hockey and the KSL are so special. Thank you so much Kyle and good luck to the Durham Mustangs!!!