The Sudbury Wolves have announced that Bud Stefanski has been named assistant coach for the team for the 2018-19 season and will join head coach Cory Stillman and associate coach Darryl Moxam behind the bench.
“I am excited to be joining the Sudbury Wolves organization and their coaching staff,” said Stefanski. “They have a lot of the right pieces in place and I look forward to a turn around season and a playoff berth.”
Born in Timmins, Stefanski played two seasons for the Oshawa Generals before being drafted by the New York Rangers in the ninth round of the 1975 draft.
Bud played more than 10 years of professional hockey in the AHL between the New Haven Nighthawks and Maine Mariners in addition to a number of stints in Europe.
Stefanski made his coaching debut in 1996 with the Oshawa Generals as an assistant coach where they took home the OHL Championship that season.
In 1999, he joined the Barrie Colts as an assistant coach before he was promoted to head coach in 2000 where he would coach for four more years. In 2004, he joined the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors for three additional seasons as head coach and director of hockey operations.
Bud has also spent seven years as an amateur scout between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ottawa Senators.
“Bud’s coaching record speaks for itself,” said head coach Cory Stillman. “Over his 10 years behind the bench, he has been to the OHL finals three times and to the Memorial Cup twice. He has the knowledge, the experience and the drive to develop our players to achieve the best. I admire the respect he has for the game.”
Sudbury Wolves VP of Hockey Operations and General Manager Rob Papineau says Stefanski knows the OHL very well and has a great deal of experience developing players at the junior level.
"He really understands junior aged players and how to help them succeed in their OHL careers and to also support them to get to the next level," said Papineau.
"With his OHL coaching experience, Bud has a great understanding of what it takes in this role to help our team be successful. His passion and enthusiasm for the game and joining the Sudbury Wolves has been very evident in all our discussions.”
Cory, Darryl and Bud are preparing for a Wolves training camp, set to open on Aug. 28.
