Meet The Otters Hockey Staff

Waters Family 

Ownership Group

After retiring from his previous career in the broadcasting industry, Jim Waters purchased the Otters franchise on July 17, 2015, fulfilling a lifelong dream he had to own a professional sports team. That dream culminated on May 12, 2017 when the Erie Otters won the OHL Championship for the second time in franchise history in just the second year under Waters’ administration.Waters served as president of CHUM Ltd. from 1994 to 2006 and was also the chairman of the board from 2002-2006. Waters oversaw operations for the company which featured 33 radio stations across Canada. During that time, Waters was honoured as the Broadcasting Executive of the Year at Canadian Music Week in March 2001. He was also elected into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in 2007.In sports, Waters served on the board of directors for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. Waters’ company owned the franchise from 1977-1987.

With Jim Waters' passing in December of 2024, the Waters Family is committed to honor and continue Jim's legacy and core values within the organization.

  “The Waters Family is excited to usher in a new chapter for our organization. United by our shared commitment to Jim’s legacy, the family is stepping forward to guide the future of the franchise, ensuring that our core values and traditions remain at the forefront."

In keeping with our longstanding commitment to excellence both on and off the ice, the family’s collective vision will steer the team through this exciting time. This united, family-led approach will continue to honor Jim’s legacy and maintain Erie’s reputation.

Dave Brown 

Executive Vice President and General Manager

Dave Brown is entering his 10th season as General Manager of the Erie Otters after being named to the position on July 20, 2015. The 2024 season marks his thirteenth year with the team, helping to bring the Otters their second OHL Championship in May of 2017. He served as Director of Hockey Operations his first four seasons, helping build the Otters into the only CHL team in history to record four consecutive 50-win seasons.

The Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario resident brings a wealth of hockey operations experience to the Otters as Brown was a part of the Mississauga/Niagara IceDogs organization from 2003-2010, the last five seasons as General Manager. In his first season as Assistant General Manager with Mississauga, the team won the Eastern Conference championship. As General Manager, the team made the playoffs for four consecutive seasons, including a second-place finish in the Eastern Conference in 2006-07.

Prior to becoming an OHL executive, Brown was a general manager for the Milton Merchants (2002-03) and Brampton Capitals (1999-2002) of the Tier II Junior A Ontario Provincial Junior Hockey League. Brown guided the Capitals to two league championships in 2000 and 2002. In July 2020, Brown was named the Executive Vice President, providing oversight to the Business Staff of the Otters. Brown has also served worked with Hockey Canada's National Program, winning gold in at the 2023 World Under-17 Tournament, gold at the World Under-18 Tournament, and gold at the 2024 Ivan Hlinka Tournament. Dave was also part of the Management group for the Team CHL in the CHL USA Top Prospects Challenge in 2024. 

Scott Grieve 

Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations

Scott Grieve is entering his eighth year with the Otters, his fifth in his current role. Grieve joined the Otters following their 2017 championship season as a Hockey Operations Intern, and was named Assistant Director of Hockey Operations following the 2017-18 season. In 2022, Grieve's title was promoted to Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations.

Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Grieve received an academic scholarship to attend Brock University's Sport Management program while playing two seasons in the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League. In 2018, he graduated from Brock University a Bachelor of Sport Management (Honours Distinction) and has since furthered his education by receiving a post-secondary certificate through Harvard Business School Online focusing on economics, accounting, and business analytics.

Kris Mallette

Head Coach

Kris Mallette is currently in his first season with the Otters, being hired in January of 2025. Mallette is no stranger to the CHL – the 46-year-old native of Kelowna, BC played four seasons in the WHL as a defenseman for Kelowna and the Moose Jaw Warriors. Drafted #62 overall to the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Mallette would continue his hockey career professionally as a player, playing nine seasons between the Central Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League, United Hockey League, and the final iteration of the International Hockey League. Shortly after his professional playing career ended, Mallette would become a name-to-know in the junior hockey coaching world – coaching the North Okanagan Knights of the KIJHL for three seasons as assistant (2010-11) and head coach (2011-12, 2012-13), a single season in the British Columbia Hockey League as an assistant (2013-14) in Vernon, before being promoted to Kelowna of the WHL in 2014. Returning as a coach to the organization he spent most of his major junior career, Mallette would serve as an assistant coach from the 2014-15 season through 2019. In his time as an assistant, Mallette would be part of the Rockets 2014-15 WHL championship season that would see the WHL-representative advance all the way to the Memorial Cup Finals. In the midst of the 2019-20 season, Mallette would be promoted for his first role as a head coach in major junior hockey – with the city of Kelowna to host the Memorial Cup in 2020 prior to tournament cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Mallette would serve as head coach of Kelowna up until an organizational change in January 2025.

Beyond his time in the CHL, with Mallette serving as an assistant coach (2022, 2023) and head coach (2024) for Hockey Canada in the last three Hlinka Gretzky Cups, helping lead the country to gold medals all three years. More recently, Mallette served as head coach for Team CHL at the 2024 CHL USA Top Prospects Challenge

Ken Peroff

Assistant Coach

A 33-year-old native of North Bay, ON, Peroff enters his third season on the Otters staff after most-recently serving as head coach the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Hamilton Kilty B’s – his second stint with the organization. The 2022-23 season in Hamilton was Peroff‘s third cumulative season as a head coach in the GOJHL, where he’d previously been named the league’s Coach of the Year award-winner in the 2017-18 & 2018-19 seasons respectively. In the latest season in Hamilton, Coach Peroff lead his Kilty B’s to a 38-7-5 record, a Golden Horseshoe Conference championship, and a third-place finish in the Sutherland Cup tournament.

TBD

Assistant Coach

Ryan Zapolski

Goaltending Coach

A well-touted goaltender during his time at Mercyhurst (NCAA Division 1), Zapolski was a three-time Atlantic Hockey Association all-conference team selectee. After his time amateur, Zapolski would go on to have a journeyman career in pro hockey, spending 10 seasons in the ECHL and AHL in North America, and the Finnish Elite League, KHL, and EBEL in Europe. It was in his final season in the ECHL that a laundry-list of awards were credited to Zapolski, including three-time goaltender of the week, two-time goaltender of the month, the ECHL’s Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and Most Valuable Player awards, as well as earning the league’s best GAA (1.64) and save percentage (.942). After his North American professional career, Zapolski took the opportunity to play high-level professional hockey in Europe in Liiga for Rauman Lukko, in the Kontinental Hockey League for Helsingin Jokerit, and in his final season in 2020 with the Vienna Capitals of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga. Zapolski is perhaps most fondly remembered nationally as a member of the United States’ Men’s Olympic Hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, where he found a 2.32 GAA and .904 SV% in five games.

Mitchell Brown

Coordinator of Video and Player Services

Mitchell enters his third season with the Otters, having completed a Hockey Operations internship prior with the Otters prior. Mitchell is a graduate of Brock University's Sport Management program and oversees the day to day team logistics and ensures the players and staff have everything they need to succeed on a day-to-day basis.    

Ryan Berard

Player Development Coordinator

Berard, an OHL alum, works closely with Erie’s drafted players and prospects, checking in on their development throughout their seasons, and ensuring their growth into OHL players.The Niagara Falls, Ontario native was drafted 33rd overall by Belleville in 2003 and played in 327 regular season OHL games over five seasons with the Bulls, Saginaw Spirit, Barrie Colts, and Sarnia Sting. He graduated on to Carleton University, where he played five seasons for the Ravens men’s ice hockey team, serving as an alternate captain in his senior year.