Yates Named Assistant Coach

Ross Yates has been named the Saint John Sea Dogs’ newest assistant coach.

Yates, 53, has a plethora of coaching experience, most notably with the American Hockey League’s Syracuse Crunch where he was behind the bench as an assistant and head coach for 10 seasons.

“We are thrilled to have the opportunity to add Ross to our staff from an outstanding group of candidates,” said Sea Dogs General Manager and Head Coach Mike Kelly in a release.

“The development of our players is the number one priority in Saint John and we feel Ross will definitely add to that cause."

Prior to his coaching career, he played professionally for several years in North America and Europe. From the Sea Dogs release:

As a player, Yates established strong roots in the Maritimes, spending five years with Mount Allison University of then AUAA.  In his final year at Mount Allison, he recorded 72 points (16 goals and 56 assists) in just 21 regular season games.  His 56 assists in a single season remains an Atlantic University Sport (AUS) record. 

Following the 1981 AUAA season, Yates joined the Binghamton Whalers of the AHL.  In his second full year with the Whalers in 1982-1983, Yates enjoyed a career season, capturing the league’s top scorer award (41 goals and 84 assists for 125 total points).  He was also named the league’s most valuable player, earned the AHL’s top sportsmanship award and was named The Hockey News minor league player of the year. 

Yates made his NHL debut with the Hartford Whalers in 1983-1984 and collected one goal and one assist in seven games before heading overseas to continue his playing career.

This seems like a solid move. He has plenty of coaching experience and should only benefit a team already with a quality staff.

In related news, Yates’ Wikipedia page has already been updated.