Saturday, April 30, 2011

Troy Ryan Named Head Coach of STU Tommies Men's Hockey Team

Press Release

St. Thomas University has named Troy Ryan head coach of the men’s hockey team. The appointment follows a national search that was conducted by administrators, former players, hockey executives, and alumni of the university. Ryan will begin his new position on May 2.

“Troy is an experienced, high-level coach with a record of success over the past decade,” said Athletics Director Mike Eagles. “He has a very attractive combination of club team and international experience - both as a coach and a manager - and he has been successful behind the bench, in the front office and with the community supporting his teams.”

Eagles said that the hiring committee was struck by Ryan’s experience, technical knowledge and commitment to building winning programs. “He has excelled at setting and meeting goals for his teams, and he has advanced his programs by attracting and developing players that fit with the values of his teams.”

“I am excited about the opportunity and challenges that come with this position. I plan to work closely with Mike and my staff to create an excellent student-athlete environment for my players,” said Ryan. “I am pleased to be making the move to Fredericton and being part of the St. Thomas University family. STU hockey will be very active in the community as we look to grow this program both on and off the ice.”

Ryan has experience as head coach and an executive. He has been the president, general manager and head coach of the Metro Marauders of the Maritime Hockey League where he was responsible for daily operations of the Dartmouth-based team, including recruiting and developing players. As coach, he was responsible for the technical, tactical, physical and psychological preparation of the team. Prior to leading the Marauders, he held the same position with the Pictou County Weeks Crushers and the Antigonish Bulldogs, and he was assistant coach of the Acadia Axemen of the Atlantic University Sport.

His international experience is extensive as he has participated in seven consecutive world championship events (five world junior A and two world under-17). He was most recently general manager of Team Canada East for the World Junior A Championship. In that capacity, he restructured the selection process, managed a staff of eight and organized the regional and main training camps. When he was assistant general manager and coach for the same team, he was responsible for scouting, technical-package creation and video breakdown and analysis. He has also been head coach of Team Atlantic at the World Under-17 Championships and he was the Team Nova Scotia Canada Winter Games head coach and assistant coach.

Ryan played with the St. Mary’s Huskies and the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds of the Atlantic University Sport. As a coach, he holds the high performance level I coaching certification, and he has held successive positions with Hockey Nova Scotia’s high performance coaching program. He has been a World Junior Training Camp coach on two occasions, and was named Hockey Nova Scotia coach of the year once and Maritime Junior A coach of the year twice. He has also been very active in the communities where he coached and he was selected volunteer of the year by Nova Scotia Tourism.

The search committee was made up of Vice President of Finance and Administration Lawrence Durling, Athletics Director Mike Eagles, graduating player Jason Cassidy, former STU Tommie and Vancouver Canuck director of player personnel Eric Crawford, alumnus Peter Gulliver, Colorado Avalanche pro scout Garth Joy, former Tommies head coach and current Buffalo Sabres scout Al MacAdam and Harold DeCourcey, a representative of the Friends of STU Tommies Hockey. It was established by St. Thomas University President Dennis Cochrane following the decision to separate the positions of men’s hockey coach and athletics director.

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

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