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Ron Wilson Named Interim Head Coach Of Bulldogs

March 9, 2009 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Hamilton Bulldogs News Release


HAMILTON, ON - Hamilton Bulldogs General Manager Julien BriseBois announced today that Ron Wilson has been named the interim head coach of the hockey club. Wilson replaces Don Lever who has been named as an assistant coach with the Montreal Canadiens.

Wilson becomes the seventh head coach in Hamilton Bulldogs history. He is in his sixth season with Hamilton after joining the club as an assistant coach for the 2003-2004 season. The native of Toronto, Ontario won the 2007 Calder Cup with the Bulldogs. Prior to joining Hamilton, Wilson served as an assistant coach for four seasons (1996-2000) with the Springfield Falcons and two seasons (2000-2002) with the Saint John Flames, winning the 2001 Calder Cup with the Flames. He also served as a head coach with the Flames during the 2002-2003 season. Wilson played 14 seasons in the National Hockey league with the Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues and Montreal Canadiens, 326 points (110 goals, 216 assists) and 415 penalty minutes in 832 games.

"I've had an opportunity to work with Ron Wilson for the past few seasons and have been very impressed by his work ethic and knowledge of the game and its players", said Hamilton Bulldogs General Manager Julien BriseBois. "Ron has spent 13 seasons in the AHL as an assistant coach and has captured two Calder Cup Championships during that time, and in addition to his experience, I believe that his ability to teach players how to become better both as individuals and as members of a team makes him the right choice to succeed Don Lever."

Lever was in his fourth year as head coach of the Bulldogs. He accumulated a record of 153-127-8-17 with Hamilton and captured the Calder Cup with the team in 2007 after having a record of 16 wins and six losses. Lever became Hamilton's longest-serving head coach on February 2nd, 2008 when he coached his 206th game to surpass Claude Julien. Before joining the Bulldogs, Lever was an assistant coach in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues for two seasons (2002-2004). He also spent 12 seasons in the Buffalo Sabres organization, beginning his coaching career as a Sabres assistant coach in 1987-1988. He then served as head coach of the AHL's Rochester Americans from 1990-1992, before returning to Buffalo as an assistant coach for the next 10 seasons (1992-2002). In his first season with Rochester as head coach, Lever earned the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL Coach of the Year. He also played in 1,030 NHL games accumulating 680 points (313 goals, 367 assists) along with 593 penalty minutes.

"I am so happy that Don is finally getting his opportunity back in the NHL", said Hamilton Bulldogs Owner and Governor Michael Andlauer. "His accomplishments here in Hamilton are worthy of this move. Not only did he and Ron help guide the Bulldogs to their first Calder Cup, but this season, he has lead the team in becoming a contender despite the enormous amount of injuries and many call-ups. His familiarity with the young Canadiens who played and won for him not so long ago should be a great asset to Montreal." Andlauer added, "I am pleased that Ron will be leading us the rest of the way as our head coach. His leadership and attention to detail combined with the familiarity with our players will make the transition an easy one for us as we strive to go for our second championship."

Lever joins a Montreal Canadiens team that features nine players that played for the South Porcupine, Ontario native during his four years with Hamilton. Matt D'Agostini, Jaroslav Halak, Andrei Kostitsyn, Maxim Lapierre, Ryan O'Byrne, Max Pacioretty, Tomas Plekanec, Carey Price, and Greg Stewart have all been coached for at least one game by Lever during their time with the Bulldogs.

***Tomorrow's full team practice scheduled to take place at Mohawk 4 Ice Centre has been cancelled. However, Interim Head Coach Ron Wilson and Hamilton Bulldogs President and Governor Glenn Stanford will be available for the media at 12:00 p.m. (noon) outside the team's dressing room at Copps Coliseum***

The Hamilton Bulldogs host the Manitoba Moose on Friday, March 13th for a 7:30 p.m. game at Copps Coliseum. Fans can listen to every 'Dogs game on the flagship station of the Hamilton Bulldogs Hockey Network, TALK 820. Fans can also listen or watch at www.hamiltonbulldogs.com by clicking on the 'AHL Live' or 'TALK 820' icons on the Bulldogs website. All regular-season radio and online broadcasts will begin with a pre-game show 30 minutes prior to each scheduled game-time. For a complete listing of radio, online, 'Dogs-in-an-Hour and television broadcasts go to http://www.hamiltonbulldogs.com/page/broadcast_997 and click the appropriate links.

Tickets for all Bulldogs home games are available at the Copps Coliseum Box Office, any Ticketmaster outlet, online at www.ticketmaster.ca or through charge-by-phone at 905-527-7666.



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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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