Voodoos add former Centennial great Yachmenev to coaching staff

A familiar face to North Bay hockey fans will be joining the Powassan Voodoos coaching staff in the fall

Published May 03, 2024 • Last updated May 06, 2024 • 1 minute read

Voodoos get even more experience behind the bench as Vitali Yachmenev (R) joins head coach Peter Goulet (L) as an assistant coach Photo by Facebook

Players are often traded at the various levels of hockey, but it’s not often coaches get dealt.

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That is sort of what happened between the Powassan Voodoos and U18AAA North Bay Trappers.

Longtime Voodoos assistant Josh Dale will be taking over the U18 Trappers next year, and Vitali Yachmenev leaves that team and will be an assistant coach for the Voodoos in the fall joining head coach Peter Goulet.

Yachmenev scored 61 goals for the 1994 OHL champion North Bay Centennials before NHL stops in Los Angeles and Nashville. He then went on to play in the Kontinental Hockey League in his native Russia. Yachmenev also coached in the KHL.

His son, Tomas, also spent three years as a Voodoo forward.

Voodoos General Manager Chris Dawson is happy with the return of Yachmenev who was an assistant coach for part of a season with Powassan six years ago.

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“He brings in a wealth of knowledge from coaching and playing in Europe and the NHL.

Peter (Goulet) has a packed resume, but he knows he can learn from Vitali because of his hockey knowledge. They will work really well together, and from what I have learned about the way Vitali ran Trapper practices, he will bring things to the Voodoos this fall,” says Dawson.

Goulet says he is excited to learn from his new colleague behind the Voodoos bench.

“We we getting a guy who played the game; he was a top OHL player, he was a top NHL player, played on a line with Wayne Gretzky and all his coaching experience in the KHL in Russia and helping the U18 Trappers and back with the Voodoos in the past,” said Goulet about Yachmenev.

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