Junior A Flyers bring new coach on board

April 9, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart – The Orangeville Jr. A Flyers will be headed in a new direction for the 2014-2015 Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) season and will be looking to recently named head coach Jamie Caruso to lead the way.

Caruso, who coached the Mississauga Rebels AAA Midgets for the past four seasons, will replace Kevin Stone behind the Flyers bench for the upcoming year and has been handed the task of coordinating the Flyers rise up the standings.

The Flyers finished last in the OJHL with a 4-46-1-2 record this past season, and will be looking to overhaul the club for the year ahead.

“The team’s record speaks for it self and management feels that is time for a change,” said general manager

Dana Baker, in announcing the coaching change. “Kevin Stone is a good coach and an outstanding person with a lot of hockey knowledge. He will undoubtedly return to coaching at a high level in the near future.”

Baker added that Stone has been offered an opportunity to stay in the organization.

Caruso and his new staff are no strangers to the Orangeville area. Caruso is a Bolton resident while assistant coaches Aaron Alphonso, Bill Bradford and Craig Teeple, all hail from Orangeville.

Lucky DeGrazia, the owner of Brampton’s Varsity Hockey Training Centre, will handle player development. Varsity will handle all the dryland training for the team next season, with several players working out with DeGrazia over the summer.

“Jamie is a proven winner and developer of players. He comes highly recommended by many respected hockey people,” said Baker of the hiring. “The staff that Jamie has put together are all very qualified hockey people.”

During his four seasons behind the Rebels bench Caruso won back-to-back Kraft Cups and GTHL Playoff Championships in 2011 and 2012, and a bronze medal at Telus Cup qualifying tournament.

As a player, Caruso was drafted fourth overall in the 1987 Ontario Hockey League draft to North Bay Centennials, playing four seasons in OHL with North Bay, Kitchener and Sudbury Wolves.

He was captain of the Ontario Under-17 team, attended main camp with the NHL’s Hartford Whalers and used his OHL education package at attend the University of Western Ontario. He played his minor hockey in Brampton.

“I am very excited about this opportunity and have lots of friends who now call Orangeville home,” said Caruso of the appointment. “I was working with Aurora Tigers all season and plan was to join them as assistant coach next year until this opportunity came up.”

Caruso heads into the Flyers May 20 to 25 Conditioning and Tryout Camp with a game plan.

“The skill level of the team needs to be improved right away so I am recruiting some top midget and Junior B players,” admitted the new Flyers bench boss, who would like to bring in some players he has previously coached. “This is a hockey town that will support the team if we can put a good product on the ice.”

Anyone interested in showing Caruso and his staff they deserve a spot with the Flyers can visit www.jraflyers.com download a camp registration form.

Assistant coaches

Arron Alphonso, a life-long Orangeville resident, will be back for a second season with the Flyers, having served as an assistant coach with the team last season. The Orangeville Minor Hockey grad was drafted in the second round to Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s, spending three seasons in Ottawa, including a visit to the MasterCard Memorial Cup in 2005. After three years at Lakehead University he was diagnosed with post-concussion syndrome and was forced to retire as a player at the age of 22.

Bill Bradford is no stranger to Orangeville hockey. He was a player and assistant coach for the Orangeville Stonecrushers.

He has coached Orangeville rep teams and in the Halton AAA Hurricanes organizations. Bradford has been a high school teacher for 23 years at Centre Dufferin District High School in Shelburne, coaching the school team to the CWOSSA championship in 2009 and 2013.

Craig Teeple joins the Flyers coaching staff with experience at the Junior A level as an assistant coach with Georgetown Raiders and Aurora Tigers. This past season, he coached the 2003 birth-year Mississauga Rebels team. Teeple played for Saint Mary’s University were he was a two-time All-Canadian. He spent 10 years playing professional hockey in Europe.