Dave joined the Spirit in July of 2015 as the General Manager and hails from Elmvale, Ontario. Under his guidance, the Spirit have won two West Division titles (2018-2019 & 2019-20) and had post season births in four of his years at the helm. Drinkill was instrumental in the drafting and signing of many highly touted players, including Cole Perfetti, Blade Jenkins, Ivan Prosvetov, Bode Wilde and Damien Giroux.
Drinkill’s distinguished work in hockey began in 2003 with the Sudbury Wolves where he worked closely with promotions and communications, and in 2005, he paved his way to the AHL, working on the Hockey Operations team with the Hamilton Bulldogs.
The following year Drinkill graduated from Laurentian University with a degree in Sports Management and would be called back home when he was hired by the OHL’s Barrie Colts as the Hockey Operations Team Statistician. Under the wing of Barrie’s General Manager, Jason Ford, Drinkill worked his way up the ladder of the Colts organization, moving up to serve as the team’s video coach, before being named the Colts Assistant General Manager in 2011.
Drinkill’s four years serving as the Colts Assistant GM, and nine years total with the organization created his unyielding passion for the game of hockey, and is a passion he has brought with him and instilled upon the entire Spirit organization, as they continue to boast record best seasons.