Clowe Named Head Coach of ECHL’s Growlers

Not sure how this slipped under my radar, but I wanted to get this in on the site. Back on June 20, the Newfoundland Growlers, an expansion team in the ECHL that will serve as an affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, annouced Ryane Clowe as their first head coach.

Clowe is a Newfoundland native and spent the last two seasons coaching with the Devils on John Hynes’ staff. He retired from NHL competition back in 2016 following battles with concussions.

He was looking to get deeper into coaching and this is a great opportunity for him as a head coach. The Maple Leafs said in a press release on June 20 that he would be attending “the Maple Leafs development camp next week as well as training camp with the Maple Leafs and Marlies in September.”

Both Clowe and new Leafs GM Kyle Dubas thanked Devils GM Ray Shero and Hynes as well as the Devils organization for allowing Clowe to pursue this opportunity with the Growlers, who will play out of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Clowe was grateful for the Devils giving him an opportunity to get his feet wet as a coach in the NHL.

Clowe’s connection to the area (he “was recently inducted into the Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame” according to the press release) and the aptitude that he has shown for coaching in his short time behind the bench for the Devils made him a natural fit as he begins his climb up the ladder to try to land a National Hockey League coaching gig.

Clowe, 35, is the second assistant coach to move on from the Devils in about a month. Assistant Geoff Ward joined Bill Peters’ staff in Calgary back in May.

Congratulations to Ryane Clowe as he begins this next chapter of his professional career.

Devils Add Ryane Clowe to Staff as Assistant Coach

The Devils will have a new/old face behind the bench this coming season when Ryane Clowe joins as an assistant coach. He will join head coach John Hynes’ staff along with Geoff Ward, Alain Nasreddine and goalie coach Chris Terreri according to the official Devils’ website.

Clowe was signed as a free agent by the Devils back on July 5, 2013 but played only 56 games over two seasons with the team. He eventually had to retire due to concussion issues but not before scoring eight goals and 22 assists for the team. He also had 37 penalty minutes. According to the Devils’ website, “(H)e spent the 2015-16 season working closely with the coaching and hockey operations staffs in a variety of roles.”

The St. John’s, Newfoundland native also spent time in his NHL career with San Jose and the Rangers. He was drafted 175th overall in the 2001 NHL Draft (San Jose’s fifth choice – sixth round).

Moving him behind the bench gives the Devils access to a kind of player who played with grit and toughness. He should be a good influence on a team that has gotten a little bit younger, giving a bit of a “veteran presence” behind the bench a la Scott Stevens a few years back.