Hamilton, Cameron, and Favreau named finalists for CHL’s 2025-26 Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award
Head coaches Steve Hamilton of the Everett Silvertips (WHL), Dave Cameron of the Ottawa 67’s (OHL), and Sylvain Favreau of the Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL) have been named the three finalists for the CHL’s Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award, presented annually to the top coach in the Canadian Hockey League.
Named in recognition of former Ottawa 67’s head coach and CHL all-time wins leader Brian Kilrea, the award is presented annually to one of the winners of the CHL’s Member League coaching honours: the OHL’s Matt Leyden Trophy, the QMJHL’s Ron-Lapointe Trophy, and the WHL’s Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy.
The 2026 recipient will be announced at the CHL Awards ceremony on Monday, June 15, in downtown Toronto.
Over the years, the CHL’s Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award has been won by many standout bench bosses, including Alain Vigneault (Hull Olympiques / QMJHL), Ken Hitchcock (Kamloops Blazers / WHL), Brian Kilrea (Ottawa 67’s / OHL), Peter DeBoer (Plymouth Whalers / OHL), Dale Hunter (London Knights / OHL), Gerard Gallant (Saint John Sea Dogs / QMJHL), Sheldon Keefe (Soo Greyhounds / OHL), André Tourigny (Ottawa 67’s / OHL), Jean-François Grégoire (Baie-Comeau Drakkar / QMJHL), and most recently Gardiner MacDougall (Moncton Wildcats / QMJHL).
WHL Nominee – Steve Hamilton (Everett Silvertips)
57-8-2-1, 117 PTS, 304 GF & 173 GA during the 2025-26 season
Steve Hamilton has been named WHL Coach of the Year for the first time in his 12 seasons as a WHL head coach. Before joining Everett, he led the Calgary Hitmen from 2018-19 to 2023-24 and the Edmonton Oil Kings from 2014-15 to 2017-18, building a reputation as one of the league’s most respected bench bosses.
In just two seasons with the Silvertips, Hamilton has guided Everett to back-to-back Scotty Munro Memorial Trophies as WHL regular-season champions. He is also the first Everett head coach to win the Dunc McCallum Memorial Trophy since Kevin Constantine earned the honour during the club’s expansion season in 2003-04. Should he win the CHL honour, Hamilton would become the first Silvertips coach to capture the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award.
Hamilton led Everett to a franchise-record 57-8-2-1 campaign in 2025-26, marking the best regular season in club history. The Silvertips’ 57 wins and 117 points in 68 games both surpassed previous franchise highs set in 2006-07, when Everett went 54-15-1-2 and recorded 111 points over a 72-game schedule.
The season also ranked among the best in CHL history. Everett’s 57 wins tied for the 12th-most in a single season, while the Silvertips became just the eighth club playing a 68-game schedule to reach that mark. Their 117 points also tied for the 12th-highest single-season total in CHL history and ranked fifth all-time among teams playing 68 games. It was the highest point total by any CHL club since Rouyn-Noranda recorded 119 points in 2018-19, and the most by a WHL team since Kelowna posted 118 points in 2013-14.
Everett was one of the CHL’s most complete teams under Hamilton, finishing third in the WHL with 304 goals for while allowing just 173 goals against, the second-fewest in the league. The Silvertips also ranked fourth in the WHL on both the power play, converting at 30.0 per cent, and the penalty kill, operating at 80.2 per cent.
That success was built on remarkable consistency. Everett won 55 of its 57 games in regulation, went 29-5-0-0 on the road, tied for the league’s best home record at 28-3-2-1, and did not lose consecutive games all season. The Silvertips also put together a 13-game winning streak from January 17 to February 14, the third-longest in the WHL this season. Their .860 points percentage ranked seventh all-time in CHL history among teams that played at least 50 games, while their 29 road wins tied for the second-most in a single season in CHL history and matched the WHL record. Everett’s eight regulation losses were also tied for the eighth-fewest in CHL history.
Hamilton’s 2025-26 campaign continued into a historic postseason run, as Everett went 16-2 through the WHL Playoffs to capture the first Ed Chynoweth Cup title in franchise history. The Silvertips then made their first Memorial Cup appearance, recorded their first Memorial Cup win and shutout, and advanced to their first Memorial Cup Final.
OHL Nominee – Dave Cameron (Ottawa 67’s)
47-15-3-3, 100 PTS, 265 GF & 160 GA during the 2025-26 season
Dave Cameron guided Ottawa to the seventh 100-point season in 67’s history, leading the club to a 47-15-3-3 record after the team began the year unranked in the preseason edition of the OHL Power Rankings.
The 67’s were one of the OHL’s most structured and consistent teams, surrendering a franchise-record 160 goals against, the fewest in the league. They were also nearly unbeatable when protecting a lead, posting a perfect 38-0 record when leading after two periods during the regular season.
Under Cameron’s guidance, alongside assistants Norm Milley and Paul Stoykewych, Ottawa saw several young players emerge as key contributors, including 32-goal scorer Jasper Kuhta, 50-point rookie Thomas Vandenberg, and former 15th-round pick Spencer Bowes. In goal, Ryder Fetterolf set a new 67’s franchise record with a league-best 2.07 goals-against average.
This marks the second time Cameron has been named OHL Coach of the Year after first earning the honour in 2022-23. He joins a strong tradition of 67’s coaches to win the award, including André Tourigny and legendary bench boss Brian Kilrea. If selected as the CHL’s top coach, Cameron would become the first Ottawa 67’s coach to win the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award twice. He would also become just the fourth coach in CHL history to win the award on multiple occasions, joining Bob Lowes, Bob Boughner, and Gerard Gallant.
Hailing from Kinkora, P.E.I., Cameron became just the eighth coach in OHL history to reach 1,000 games on February 8, 2026, after recording his 500th career OHL win on March 23, 2025. His coaching résumé spans OHL stops in Sault Ste. Marie, Toronto, Mississauga, and Ottawa, along with professional experience in the NHL, AHL, and Europe. Prior to coaching, Cameron also played 168 NHL regular-season games with the Colorado Rockies and New Jersey Devils from 1981-84.
QMJHL Nominee – Sylvain Favreau (Drummondville Voltigeurs)
40-18-3-3, 86 PTS, 240 GF & 195 GA during the 2025-26 season
In his fifth season as a head coach, and third with the Drummondville Voltigeurs, Sylvain Favreau earned the Ron-Lapointe Trophy as QMJHL Coach of the Year for the first time in his career. He is also the first Voltigeurs head coach in QMJHL history to receive the honour. Should he win the CHL honour, Favreau would become the first Drummondville Voltigeurs coach to capture the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award.
Despite entering the season without many of the league’s top offensive stars, Favreau guided Drummondville through a season-long battle for first place in the Western Conference, with the Voltigeurs ultimately finishing just one point behind the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
The accomplishment was especially impressive considering Drummondville featured only one 60-point scorer, Jesse Allecia, and just one additional 50-point producer in Renaud Poulin. After winning the Gilles-Courteau Trophy in 2024 and finishing third overall in 2024-25, the Voltigeurs remained among the QMJHL’s top clubs in 2025-26 under Favreau’s leadership.
The Voltigeurs succeeded through structure, balance, and consistency, finishing sixth in both goals scored and goals against while relying on two rookie goaltenders throughout the season. Drummondville also proved particularly effective at even strength, overcoming modest special teams rankings by playing disciplined, team-oriented hockey. Notably, the Voltigeurs finished the season as the least penalized team in the QMJHL.
Favreau, 47, previously spent two seasons as head coach of the Halifax Mooseheads before joining the Voltigeurs in the summer of 2023. His leadership and ability to maximize his roster played a major role in establishing Drummondville as one of the QMJHL’s top teams during the 2025-26 campaign.
