Mike Kelly was named the director of hockey operations and associate coach of the Sea Dogs on April 24, 2009 and began building the Sea Dogs into a powerhouse shortly thereafter.

Kelly drafted key cornerstones such as Jonathan Huberdeau, Pierre Durepos, Tomas Jurco, Ryan Tesink and Stanislav Galiev, and orchestrated several notable trades, including the acquisitions of Zack Phillips and Jacob DeSerres. In his first two seasons heading up the hockey operations department, the team won 111 regular-season games and the 2011 President’s Cup and MasterCard Memorial Cup. Kelly’s outstanding work was recognized with the Maurice Filion award as the top general manager in the QMJHL for 2010-11.

Kelly has coached at several levels throughout his career. Originally from Oakville, Ont., he most recently spent three years in the Vancouver Canucks organization (2005-2008) as an assistant coach with both the Canucks and the Manitoba Moose (AHL).

At the major junior level, Kelly has experience in both coaching and in management with the Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL), North Bay Centennials (OHL), and Windsor Spitfires (OHL). In 1998, Kelly led the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds to a Canadian Interuniversity Championship, winning the Father George Kehoe Memorial Award as the top collegiate coach in the country in the process. As a player, Kelly served as captain of UNB and also played professionally in Europe.

Kelly led Canada to a gold medal at the 2003 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, serving as head coach of the elite squad. He was also an assistant on Team Canada’s coaching staff at the IIHF World Junior Championships from 2000 to 2002.