Belleville Senators Fill Out Troy Mann's Coaching Staff For 2019-20 Season
BELLEVILLE, ONT. -- The Belleville Senators announced changes to their coaching staff for the 2019-20 season Thursday morning, notably the hirings of David Bell and Colin Chaulk, who will serve as assistants to head coach Troy Mann.
Paul Boutilier and Ryan Murphy, who held assistant coaching positions last season, were not retained by the club. Video coach Tyler May also will not return.
Belleville's new staff will have their sights set on breaking a post-season drought that dates back to their days in Binghamton, New York. Ottawa's American Hockey League affiliates have missed the post-season in five consecutive seasons, starting in 2014-15.
Another area of concern is improving the club's specialty teams, most notably, the re-tooling of a penalty kill (75.7%) that ranked as the AHL's worst in the previous season. Additionally, their power play was precisely middle of the road (18.3%), finishing 16th in the 31 team league.
Mann led Belleville to an eight-win and 19 point improvement over their inaugural year, placing the team on the verge of a playoff berth, but ultimately fell short on the final day of the regular season. He added increased competitive fire in his first season as head coach and no doubt hopes his new additions will bring the necessary technical skill to guide Belleville to the Calder Cup playoffs.
Meet The New Hires
Dave Bell, 42, is no stranger to the assistant role, having served in that capacity in both the professional and major junior ranks. Most recently, Bell served with the Ontario Reign, the top affiliate of the LA Kings. In his 15-year coaching career, the Wiarton, Ontario native has handled the head coach duties on two occasions with OHL Niagara Ice Dogs and the Quad City Mallard of the CHL.
"Dave’s time as a coach in the AHL as well as his tenure in the Ontario Hockey League, adds integral experience to our staff,” said Belleville Senators head coach Troy Mann in a statement released by the team. “He was a hard-nosed player who has translated his tireless work ethic onto the coaching side of the game—he’s exactly the type of person we want to have working with our defensive core."
Colin Chaulk, 42, spent the last four seasons as VP of Hockey Operations and head coach of the ECHL’s Brampton Beast, posting a 127-125-36 overall record with two playoff appearances. The Toronto native previously served as an assistant coach with the Kalamazoo Wings for two seasons prior to earning his first career head coach gig in Brampton.
"Colin has done an excellent job in his role with our affiliate in Brampton over the past few years,” Mann said in a statement released by the Belleville Senators. “His abilities as a coach as well as his success in developing our organization’s prospects at the ECHL level complements what we are trying to accomplish here in Belleville."
In other staffing moves: Kory Cooper, who has been on staff since 2016, is the lone holdover from Binghamton Senators' days and will remain as the club's Goaltending Development Consultant, earning a well-deserved contract extension.
Finally, Frédéric Lemay will serve as the team’s new video coach. Lemay spent the past two seasons as the Brampton Beast's Director of Hockey Operations.
