The news surfaced on Tuesday when the East Coast Blizzard, an under-18 team in Newfoundland that Lee had been the head coach of, tweeted the news. The Sea Dogs have not made an official announcement about the hire.
Massive Congratulations to our own Mark Lee! Mark has been named an Assistant Coach with the Memorial Cup Champion @SJSeaDogs! Wishing you all the best in NB, Mark!
— East Coast Blizzard (@EC_Blizzard) August 16, 2022
The @NLU18MHL continues to be an amazing development path for both players and team staff. #NLProud pic.twitter.com/92xzprwKv6
Saltwire reports that Lee was offered the position on Saturday, arrived in Saint John on Sunday and was on the ice for the first day of training camp on Monday.
Lee and Sea Dogs head coach Travis Crickard are both Newfoundlanders. Saltwire reports that "at the recent Hockey NL high-performance program camp, where both are part of the province’s Canada Winter Games coaching staff, Crickard approached Lee about coming on board with the Sea Dogs."
The 37-year-old Lee spent one season as a player in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, recording 11 goals and 25 points in 65 games with the PEI Rocket in 2003-04. His junior career also saw him play with the Maritime Hockey League's Amherst Ramblers.
Lee has a lengthy resume of professional hockey play, suiting up in the AHL and ECHL along with stops in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy and Romania. His final season as a player came in 2018-19. According to Elite Prospects, Lee has been behind the the Blizzard bench since the 2019-20 season.
It sounds like Lee will be running Saint John's power play, which means the team's other assistant coach - assuming they hire a second - will presumably be focused on defensive play.
Mark is a great student of the game with deep roots in a great hockry family.
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