Jim Aldred

James Aldred (born April 28, 1963) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former player. He played four seasons in the Ontario Hockey League, and was drafted 59th overall in the 1981 National Hockey League entry draft by the Buffalo Sabres. After four seasons combined in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League, he won an Eredivisie championship in the Netherlands with the Nijmegen Tigers. Retiring due to injuries, Aldred turned to coaching four seasons in the Greater Metro Junior A Hockey League.

Moving to Portugal in 2017, Aldred became head coach of the Portugal men's national ice hockey team which has competed at every Development Cup organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). After one season coaching in Sweden, he returned to Portugal teaching at hockey camps for children, founded the Luso Lynx recreational hockey club, established a three-on-three hockey league, and founded the professional club HC Porto which began play in the Spanish Liga Nacional de Hockey Hielo in 2023. He was recognized by the IIHF for contributions to developing youth ice hockey, with the Johan Bollue Award in 2025.

Early life and minor ice hockey James Aldred was born on April 28, 1963, in Toronto, Ontario. He began playing ice hockey as a four-year-old, and had a backyard rink at his house. He played minor ice hockey with the Humber Valley club in the Etobicoke Hockey Association, and later played in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. and the Aurora Tigers in the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. He scored 22 goals and 44 points for Aurora, and was an offensive-minded player ranked 22nd by the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) scouting bureau for the upcoming draft. Kingston's coach and general manager Jim Morrison chose a defenceman with each of his first three picks, looking to solidify the team's defence. Seeking to earn his way onto the team, Aldred had daily skating sessions during the summer even though he was guaranteed a place on the team as a midget draft pick. At training camp, Morrison felt that Aldred handled the puck well and was a good skater. then upon his return in February, missed the remainder of the season and playoffs with a separated shoulder. In 16 games played, Aldred scored one point and had nine penalty minutes. and scored the sixth-most points on the team. In the divisional playoffs series victory versus the Ottawa 67's, Aldred scored consecutive game-winning goals in the first two games. The Canadians were eliminated in the divisional finals in six games versus the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He was subsequently drafted 59th overall in the 1981 National Hockey League entry draft by the Buffalo Sabres in the third round.

Aldred scored two goals and six points in the first ten games of the 1981–82 OHL season with the Canadians. The Sault Star described Aldred as "big, tough, aggressive, and he can score", and as a "mucker", who was best suited to play in the corners and in front of the opposing team's goal. He scored 16 goals and 31 points in the remainder of the regular season for the Greyhounds, and had four goals and 54 penalty minutes in 12 postseason games.

In the 1982–83 OHL season, Aldred scored 22 goals for his career best in the OHL. the tenth highest total in the OHL. The Greyhound placed first in the league during the regular season, received a first-round playoffs bye, defeated the Alexanders in five games in the second round, defeated the Rangers in seven games in the division finals, then lost in the OHL finals versus the Oshawa Generals in four games. In 16 playoffs games, he scored two goals, ten points, and had 46 penalty minutes. Shifting permanently from defenceman to left winger, Not playing since game two of the second round, Aldred scored a first-period goal in a game-four overtime loss during the Calder Cup finals versus the Maine Mariners. The Americans lost the Calder Cup finals in five games, with Aldred scoring two goals in 11 playoff games. The Generals were the defending Turner Cup champions, and Aldred scored the first goal of the team's home opener in the 1984–85 IHL season. He played right wing for the Generals, but missed two weeks in November with an injured knee. He was called up to Rochester on December 7, then sent back to Flint four days later after appearing in two games for the Americans in the 1984–85 AHL season. On January 11, 1985, Flint's coach and general manager Dennis Desrosiers, traded Aldred and Don Waddell to the Toledo Goaldiggers in exchange for Bill Joyce and Mark Plantery. At the IHL deadline to reduce rosters for the playoffs, Aldred was placed on waivers then released by the Goaldiggers in March. During the 1984–85 IHL season, he played in 52 games, scoring 12 goals and 18 points. He scored one goal and four points in 10 games with the Americans, He became a free agent after the season when not offered a contract.

Aldred tried out with the Flint Spirits of the International Hockey League, but was released during training camp for the 1986–87 IHL season.

After not playing for a season, Aldred joined the Nijmegen Tigers of the Eredivisie in the Netherlands. In the 1987–88 Eredivisie season, he scored 40 goals and 88 points in 41 games. His point total was ninth best in the league, and second best on the Tigers behind Robert Forbes with 122 points. The Tigers placed second in the league cup, placed first in the playoffs round-robin, then defeated the Rotterdam Pandas in five games in the semifinals, and defeated the Heerenveen Flyers in four games to win the playoffs championship. Aldred retired from playing after the season, when battling more frequent injuries.

Playing statistics Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1978–79 Aurora Tigers OPJAHL 38 22 22 44 – – – – – – 1978–79 Toronto Red Wings MetJBHL – – – – – – – – – – 1979–80 Kingston Canadians OMJHL 16 0 1 1 9 – – – – – 1980–81 Kingston Canadians OHL 67 20 28 48 140 – – – – – 1981–82 Kingston Canadians OHL 10 2 4 6 18 – – – – – 1981–82 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 43 16 15 31 179 12 4 3 7 54 1982–83 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds OHL 63 22 22 44 176 16 2 8 10 46 1983–84 Rochester Americans AHL 64 10 9 19 57 11 2 0 2 33 1984–85 Flint Generals IHL 28 5 3 8 10 ––––– 1984–85 Rochester Americans AHL 2 0 0 0 0 – – – – – 1984–85 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 24 7 3 10 16 – – – – – 1985–86 Toledo Goaldiggers IHL 51 9 17 26 110 – – – – – 1985–86 Rochester Americans AHL 10 1 3 4 4 – – – – – 1987–88 Nijmegen Tigers Eredivisie 414048880––––– OMJHL/OHL totals 199 60 70 130 522 28 6 11 17 100 AHL totals 76 11 12 23 61 11 2 0 2 33 IHL totals 103 21 23 44 136 – – – – –

Source: The Red Wings were described as "the first foreign junior hockey team in Canada", with a roster of mostly Russian-born players, made possible since the GMHL had no limits on foreign-born players. Aldred felt that the Russian players were tough on each other and needed strict guidance, and that he was privileged to coach them coming to Canada to "better themselves" despite his suspension by Hockey Canada for coaching in an unaffiliated league. The Red Wings earned 25 wins in 42 games, placing fifth in the GMHL with 52 points.

In the 2011–12 GMHL season, Aldred became head coach of the Vaughan Stars, He led Vaughan to 11 wins in 16 games, until the GMHL revoked their membership on November 28, ending the season. Aldred subsequently worked as a power skating instructor throughout Ontario. Aldred's team placed seventh in the South Division with 20 wins in 42 games, and 40 points. Seeking a "positive impact on the players, both personally and professionally", he returned for the 2015–16 GMHL season, he developed a fast-skating, and puck-possession team, using systems-oriented coaching. He focused on defensive zone coverage, and let the players create their own play in the attacking zone. Alliston led the Central Division with 28 wins in 31 games by January, with Aldred and two of his players named to Team World in the league's all-star game. Alliston finished the season second place in the Central Division with 36 wins in 42 games, having led the division for most of the season until surpassed by the Tottenham Steam

Aldred was hired to coach the Tottenham Steam for the 2016–17 GMHL season by the team's new owners, but was replaced by Dennis Maruk before the season began.

Beginnings in Portugal In 2016, Aldred relocated to Portugal with his wife. The largest rink in Portugal at the time was inside a converted bullring in Elvas, which was not a regulation-sized rink for hockey. Their talent was noticed by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) at an event in Spain, which led to the players affiliating with the Portuguese Winter Sports Federation (FDIP) and an invitation to oversee the Portugal men's national ice hockey team, Joining the FDIP provided financial support for the team, which Aldred and the players had paid for all travel themselves until then. Later in 2017, Aldred led Portugal to a second-place finish at a ten-team tournament in his former hometown of Nijmegen. Portugal had two wins and one loss, and scored 27 goals in three tournament games.

In 2018, Aldred established the Luso Lynx Hockey Club, based in Sintra, which became the first club affiliated with the FDIP. His senior team earned promotion to the Sweden second division for the 2019–20 season, but chose not to return due to family reasons. He also helped create a three-on-three hockey league including the Luso Lynx and three other teams, with games played at Serra da Estrela.

HC Porto Seeking to raise hockey's profile in Portugal, Aldred established HC Porto in 2023, a professional team playing in the top-level Spanish league. During the 2023–24 season, HC Porto won seven of its 14 games, and placed fifth of eight teams.

In 2024, the FDIP and the Spanish Ice Sports Federation established the Liga Ibérica de Hóquei no Gelo, encompassing the Iberian Peninsula and allowing any team to win the championship.

HC Porto also competes in the Portugal national 3-on-3 tournament. Aldred led his team to the inaugural championship for the 2023–24 season, placing first in the four-team round-robin with 10 points. They repeated as national champions in the 2024–25 season, being undefeated in the regular season and playoffs.

International hockey When the IIHF Development Cup resumed in 2022, Aldred coached the Portugal national team each year since. After two consecutive cups without winning a game, Portugal placed second at the 2024 Development Cup with a loss to the Ireland national team by a 5–1 score in the final game.

In 2024, Aldred completed the USA Hockey Level 4 coach certification course for international competitions. At the 2025 IIHF Development Cup in Andorra, Portugal won the bronze medal with three wins in five games. Aldred led his team to victories versus Brazil, Andorra, and Greece, but lost by a 1–2 score versus Puerto Rico, and lost by a 4–5 score versus Liechtenstein. He was recognized by the IIHF for contributions to developing youth ice hockey, with the Johan Bollue Award presented during the 2025 IIHF World Championship in Sweden.

Third place and worked in the painting and interior decorating business. He later played recreational men's hockey, participated in alumni games for the Greyhounds, and was an assistant coach for the Ramada Inn Canadians AAA midget team.

Aldred married in Sault St. Marie, to Cristina Lopes from Portugal. They moved to Torres Novas in 2016, to be closer to her elderly parents, and have lived in Covilhã since 2021.