Dan Rose named new Legionnaires coach
DAN McCAFFERY   November 6th, 2010
 

The Sarnia Legionnaires have replaced one good coach with another.

President Tom Knight announced Friday the struggling hockey club has relieved Jeff Perry of his duties, replacing him with Dan Rose, who has won multi-championships in his more than 30 years of coaching.

Knight said he has great respect for Perry, both as a person and a bench boss, but added a change was needed because the club has not been winning. The Legionnaires have a 7-10-2 record and sit in eighth place in the Western Ontario Hockey Conference.

Championship winner hired

Rose, a 53-year-old native of Point Edward and a former Sarnia Collegiate student, has won four championships in minor hockey. He also has six years of experience as a Jr. 'B' ice general with the St. Thomas Stars and the London Nationals. In St. Thomas, he was named league coach-of-the-year on one occasion. On another occasion he took the Stars to the finals before being eliminated. On top of that, Rose has coached the University of Western Ontario Mustangs. Here's a look at his record:

·         In 2007/08 he coached the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs 'AAA' Minor Midgets to an Alliance Championship, a North American Silver Stick title and an OHL Cup semi-final appearance.

·         In 2006/07 he was head coach of the Elgin Middlesex Chiefs 'AAA' Major Bantams, who were Alliance Champions and Provincial Silver Medalists.

·         From 2001/06 he was coach and general manager of the St. Thomas Stars.

·         From 2000/01 he was a coach for the UWO Mustangs.

·         From 1999/2000 he was head coach of the London Nationals. He took a young team, got it into the playoffs and went six games with the eventual-champion Chatham Maroons.

·         From 1997-1999 he was with the Belmont Bombers.

·         From 1992-98 he was coach of the Elgin Middlesex 'AAA' Midget team, leading them to a championship in 1996.

·         He held a number of other minor hockey coaching posts from 1974 to 1992, leading the St. Thomas 'AA' Major Bantams to an OMHA championship.

 Perry's record

Jeff Perry is also a coach with a proven track record. In fact, he was the most successful coach the Sarnia Sting have ever had, leading them to a 96-61-17-11 record. In 2003 he set a Sting franchise record by coaching the club to the most wins and points it ever recorded in one year.

 Perry was also an assistant coach with the London Knights when they won the Memorial Cup in 2005. On top of that, he was an assistant coach with the St. Johns Flames in the American Hockey League.

 With the Legionnaires he was plagued by bad luck and bad timing. The bad timing came during his first year, when he had the misfortune to arrive just in time to face a major rebuilding job. No less than six of the previous year's championship-winning Legionnaires had moved on to the OHL.

 This year, bad luck hit him hard in the way of injuries and sickness to key players.

He has been harshly criticized from time to time on Internet fan forums, but not by anyone who has had the guts to put their real name to a post.