Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Carr Joins Coaching Staff at Merrimack College

Press Release

The Youngstown Phantoms announced that Head Coach Curtis Carr has accepted a position on the coaching staff at Merrimack College.

"The promotion of our head coach continues to validate the program that we continue to build here in Youngstown," said BJ Alan President and CEO Bruce J. Zoldan. "Curtis is a solid character coach and he exemplifies what we and the other members of our organization look for in both our players and coaches. We have been proud to have a person like Curtis acting as a role model for the players that we continue to develop in our system."

It culminates a busy offseason for the Youngstown Phantoms which first began when defenseman Scott Mayfield was selected in the second round (34th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Islanders, becoming the first Youngstown player ever to be drafted into the NHL. Seven players who wore a Phantoms uniform also attended NHL rookie development camps this summer.

Carr was named the Head Coach and General Manager of the Phantoms on April 2, 2010. He was previously the Associate Coach and Director of Player Development for the Phantoms during their inaugural USHL season in 2009-10.

In the three prior seasons, Carr was in Youngstown as the Assistant Coach and Director of Player Personnel for the NAHL's Mahoning Valley Phantoms, during which the team posted a 142-61-11 record, including playoffs. In those three seasons, the Phantoms won a regular season championship, two North Division titles, and made the National Tournament in all three campaigns. They finished National Champions runner-up twice, as well as a National third place finish.

During his time in Youngstown, Carr has helped develop 90 players that have gone on to play collegiate hockey. A total of 16 players from the 2010-11 USHL season have secured NCAA Division I commitments.

The Phantoms now former head coach will be headed to a Merrimack program that saw great success during the 2010-11 season. Not only did the Warriors finish the season ranked 10th in the nation, they put together a 25-win season, a new Division-I school record, reached the final game of the Hockey East postseason tournament for the first time in school history, and clinched a berth in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998.

Merrimack defeated every Hockey East team for the second straight season and second time ever. The program was ranked nationally for the final 17 weeks of the season, reaching as high as #4 in February. Adding to the success the Warriors have seen on the ice, 10 players this past season were named to the Hockey East All-Academic Team.

"I am very thankful and I am extremely excited to have the opportunity to join the Merrimack program," said Carr. "Coach [Mark] Dennehy has done a great job over the past seven seasons and Glenn Stewart has done a phenomenal job scouting the right players for their program. I am looking forward to learning from both of them as I further my coaching career."

Prior to coming to Youngstown, Curtis spent seven seasons as a player and then coach for the Kent State University men's hockey team. There, he played in two American College Hockey Association (ACHA) national tournaments and was a three-time ACHA All-American while also earning a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education with a teacher certification and a Master's in Sports Administration and Recreation Management.

Post-graduation, Carr was hired on as the Golden Flashes' assistant coach for the 2003-04 season, and then was promoted to Head Coach the following year. Kent State went on to make the 2005 ACHA National Tournament, helping make him a finalist for ACHA Coach of the Year.

Carr is now the fifth USHL coach to move on to college hockey since the end of the 2010-11 season, joining Eric Rud (Green Bay Gamblers head coach) who joined the staff at his alma mater – Colorado College, Jason Herter (Fargo Force head coach) who accepted a coaching position on the staff of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, Cam Ellsworth (Sioux City Musketeers assistant coach) who joined the staff at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, and Joe Exter (Team USA assistant coach) who took a coaching role at Ohio State University.

(Nathan can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)

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