Entering his eleventh season at the helm, Darren Burns had his most successful season as a head coach during 2005- 2006, completing the year with a 19-7-1-1 record and grabbing a first place bye. The Axemen swept both semi-final and final series against Saint Mary's and UNB respectively, grabbing their first AUS title since the 1995-96 season. Heading into the Canadian Interuniversity Finals in Edmonton, Acadia was ranked second in the country prior to the championship tournament.

Darren was an assistant coach with the Team Canada entry at the World University Games in Torino,Italy, which captured gold in 2006/2007. Darren was named the 2005 Atlantic University Sport Coach of the Year and 2005 Canadian Interuniversity Sport Coach of the Year.

Burns has rebuilt the program and has improved the team's record each season since taking over as head coach. In 2005, he guided the #3- ranked Axemen to a 14-8-6 record and a first place finish, including a 10-2-2 record since the Christmas break. The Axemen made their first post-season appearance since the 2000-01 season.

A native of Brockville, ON, Burns played for the Axemen from 1990-95 and was a member of the 1992-93 National Championship winning squad. Darren also won a second CIS Championship as an assistant with the Axemen in 1995-96. Burns resides in Port Williams, NS, with his wife Lana, son Brady and daughter Allie.

Travis Young heads into his fourth year as a coach with the Axemen. As the "eye in the sky", Travis plays a roll in providing quality control and ensuring the bench staff is aware of the need for adjustments.

Travis a former All Canadian Rookie is a great addition to the staff. Travis was an extremely intelligent hockey player whose knowledge of the game were his strongest asset. Travis is following in the footsteps of his uncle John Paddock, an assistant general manager with the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL.

Mike Alcoe is a full-time teacher at Horton High School and has been with the Hockey Axemen as a coach for 21 seasons. Mike was once a member of the Axemen hockey program from 1976-1980 and served as an assistant with former coaches Don Wells, Tom Coolen, Mark Hanneman, and Kevin Dickie.

His passion and competitiveness has been a strong asset in building the tradition of Acadia Hockey. A very knowledgeable defense coach, Mike has won Two National Championships in his time at Acadia. His experience and track record as a winning coach provides great stability for the Hockey Axemen.

He resides in Port Williams with wife Rebecca, son Mitchell and daughter Brooke.

Mark Richards is a teacher at Horton High School. He is heading into his ninth year as an assistant with the Axemen. He has also spent two seasons with the Saint Mary’s Hockey Program.

He has become a very important part of the Axemen coaching staff. His desire to learn and passion for the game combined with an uncanny ability to read the game has been very important in the resurgence of the Acadia Hockey Program.

Mark resides in Port Williams with wife Sonia and son’s James and Matthew.