Greyhounds new coach is …
Soo Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League have settled on a new bench boss, Hockey News North has confirmed.
37-year old John Dean has been hired as head coach of the Greyhounds, as Hockey News North first reported earlier today.
Dean coached the Toronto Patriots of the Ontario Jr. Hockey League in 2017-2018 and was named coach of the year.
Prior to last season, Dean was an assistant coach with the OHL’s North Bay Battalion for three years.
As a player, Dean was a marginal left winger for three OHL seasons with the erstwhile North Bay Centennials.
The Greyhounds had been looking for a new bench boss since OHL coach-of-the-year Drew Bannister left the Soo after the 2017-2018 season for a job in the American Hockey League.
In confirming Dean as the new head coach, Greyhound general manager Kyle Raftis explained his decision.
“John’s passion and his ability to articulate his plans for the future of our hockey club was very impressive and evident when going through our search for the next head coach,” Raftis began.
“We are very confident that John is the right fit for the program at this time. John understands today’s athlete and has a proven track record of success. He’s an effective communicator, teacher and committed to pushing this franchise to the next level,” Raftis added.
PHOTO: New Soo Greyhounds coach John Dean.