Gary Ricciardi named head coach of U-18 Kings

HUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Kings announced Thursday that Gary Ricciardi has been named the head coach of their under-18 team for the 2020-21 season.

Ricciardi steps into the role for Darrin Nicholas who left to become the new commissioner of the Superior International Junior Hockey League.

An alumnus of the Kings program as a player, Ricciardi went on to play defence in the Jr. A ranks for the Thunder Bay Flyers before going on to earn an NCAA Division I scholarship to Ferris State University in Michigan.

Following a professional career, he and his brother Jeff, who is coaching the U-16 Kings, have run Core Hockey for the past 15 years, running skills and development camps locally and across northwestern Ontario.

“Seeing former players, like Gary, return to the program as coaches is a tremendous boon to our organization,” offered Kings’ board member Brent Rau, who heads up the organization’s coaching selection committee.

“With his invaluable experience at many levels of the game, we are confident he and his staff will do an excellent job with our U-18 program,” added Rau.

Tryouts for the four Kings teams are tentatively scheduled to commence Sept. 14, pending final approval from Hockey Northwestern Ontario and local health authorities.