A CANADIAN with East Lothian connections has revealed to the Courier his ambition to manage a British ice hockey team in the Winter Olympics.

Tali Campbell, 25, who lives in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, was born in Edinburgh and lived on North Berwick’s Lochbridge Road until the age of three, when his parents split and he moved with mum Sam and sisters Tina and Danielle to Canada.

His brother Angus stayed behind to finish high school in North Berwick before also moving to Canada.

While Angus played football in Scotland, Tali showed more of an interest in the Canadian national sport and decided to get into management – an ambition he has realised, becoming the youngest general manager of a British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) team.

Tali, now vice-president and GM of the Coquitlam Express Junior A Hockey Club, said: “I’ve never played ice hockey at all.

“I grew up watching a lot of soccer, then I started watching the local hockey team and started volunteering.

“I started six years ago as game day co-ordinator [for Alberni Valley Bulldogs], then moved into more of a sales and marketing role, then eventually became director of business operations [at Nanaimo Clippers], then general manager and I am now GM of the Express.”

But Tali is not fazed by his meteoric rise.

He said: “BCHL is touted as the best junior hockey league in North America – our goal is to help these 16-20-year-old kids get National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) scholarships, to go and play hockey for schools, and of course to get into the National Hockey League (NHL).

“Being GM, I would say, is the highest position in junior hockey for a club; your job is to manage the 25 players, the budgets off the ice, all the programmes.

“We operate about a Can$1.5million budget, so I sit at the governors’ table. It’s pretty cool.”

Tali manages to get to North Berwick to visit his Scottish family at least once a year – but was unable to last year due to lockdown.

He said: “I try and get there in the summer when it’s a bit quieter for hockey.

“It’s tough [not being able to travel]. My grandparents are getting a bit older now so we try to get over every year.

“But with technology, you do stuff like FaceTime.”

Tali’s dad Gus still lives on Lochbridge Road with his wife Kirsty and son Ryan, 10, while Tali’s granddad, also called Angus, lives with wife Margaret at Cemetery Lodge at North Berwick Cemetery.

Gus couldn’t be prouder of his ambitious son.

He said: “I’m very proud of him, he’s done very well.

“I’ve never been interested in ice hockey but he’s been into it most of his life.

“Being in Canada, he went to see his local team and he had a dream one day to manage them, so it happened!”

Gus, who is plant nursery manager for East Lothian Council, added: “When he was over here he took me to see the Edinburgh Capitals, to see my first game; and I’ve always wanted to go over to Canada to see hockey there.

“Tali’s some man; he’s self-motivated and driven.”

Tali said: “I love this job, I love working with these younger guys and helping them achieve their goal.

“Growing up, I was very interested in sports but was never a good athlete, so I took the business route.

“The next level up would be the American Hockey League or the NHL but in the back of my mind I always think of the Olympics. Great Britain doesn’t have the best hockey team and I would love to do that one day – manage Team Great Britain.”

Tali, who has dual citizenship, added: “I’m Canadian but I was born Scottish – I’ve got a tattoo on my leg of a Canadian and Scottish flag – and I think the ultimate goal would be to be GM of Team Great Britain one day.”