Thursday, July 4, 2013

Cull Bolts for AHL! Fixter Named Wolves' New Coach!

Press Release

The Sudbury Wolves would like to announce that Head Coach Trent Cull has accepted a coaching position with the Tampa Bay Lightning's AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch. Coach Cull concludes a three-year term as Head Coach of the Sudbury Wolves and compiled a winning percentage of .515 over the 3-year term. Cull led the Wolves to two play-off series victories over the Ottawa 67's in 2011 and the Brampton Battalion in 2013. Cull returns to his former training grounds, the Syracuse Crunch who were formerly a part of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ organization.

"I want to thank Wolves’ owner Mark Burgess and his family for giving me such a great opportunity to be a part of the Sudbury Wolves organization for the last three years" notes Trent Cull."They gave me my first chance to be a Head Coach and I am truly grateful to Mark and the Burgess family. The organization has been nothing but fantastic to my family and I.   Having the opportunity to work with GM Blaine Smith and Ken Mackenzie has been great for my personal development and I believe we have put the Sudbury Wolves back on the right hockey path to success. My only regret is not being able to bring a Championship banner to the rafters of the Sudbury Arena in my time here. I have had the pleasure of coaching some great young men in my time here and I will miss working with those great kids every day. I hope to see them very soon in the pro ranks."

Cull added, “We also wanted to thank the City of Sudbury and its people as they have welcomed my family and I with open arms. Myself, my wife Marcia, and my three boys, have made some great friendships that we will continue to keep as the community has been so generous to us. We will sincerely miss the Sudbury City and the great people within it.”

"Trent has been an excellent Head Coach for the Sudbury Wolves and we want to wish Trent and his family all the best in Syracuse" notes Wolves' President Blaine Smith. "Trent has always had his sights set on the returning to the pro ranks and the Tampa Bay Lightning organization was very eager to recruit Trent to their affiliate team in Syracuse. Trent will have a chance to work with an organization led by Steve Yzerman – one of the very best hockey men in the game and I know he is very excited about his new opportunity. On behalf of the Burgess Family and the entire Sudbury Wolves organization, I would like to thank Trent for his personal dedication and contribution to the success of the Sudbury Wolves for the past three years.”

Smith is also pleased to announce that recently hired Associate Coach, Paul Fixter, has been promoted to the position of Head Coach.  “We are very pleased to announce Paul Fixter as the next Head Coach of the Sudbury Wolves” notes Smith.   “Paul has been patiently waiting for an opportunity to become a Head Coach of an OHL team and after spending five years as an Associate Coach in Kitchener, his wish has now come true.  The Sudbury Wolves organization will be in very good hands under the guidance and leadership of Paul Fixter.

“I’m very excited to be named as the next Head Coach of the Sudbury Wolves” notes Fixter. “It’s amazing how things change so quickly in the game of hockey. I was looking forward to the opportunity of working with Trent, but now that he has moved up to the pro level, I am extremely excited to take-on the responsibility of leading the Wolves behind the bench this season.  I cannot describe how exciting this day is for me and my wife Leslie.”

Fixter and Smith will now begin their search for a new Assistant Coach to join Fixter behind the Sudbury Wolves bench this season.  “Paul and I have discussed a number of candidates that had previously applied for the Assistant Coaching position that we had advertised earlier in May, so we have an excellent base of candidates to work with” adds Smith. Smith expects that a new Assistant Coach will be named before the end of July. “We have a trip to Russia to get ready for in August and a training camp when we return, so it is going to be a very busy summer for the Sudbury Wolves organization.”

 (Nathan can be reached at nathanfournier@mainehockeyjournal.com)

No comments: