Image courtesy of the Saginaw Spirit

Saginaw Spirit name Spencer Carbery new head coach

Image courtesy of the Saginaw Spirit
Image courtesy of the Saginaw Spirit

 

By @MichaelCaples –

Starting today, the Saginaw Spirit have a new head coach.

The OHL club announced today that Spencer Carbery has been named the new head coach of the Spirit, as the Saginaw franchise prepares for its 15th season.

Carbery, 34, spent the last five seasons as head coach and director of hockey operations for the South Carolina Stingrays of the ECHL.

“This is an exciting day for our franchise as we add the most critical building block to the foundation of the Saginaw Spirit,” general manager Dave Drinkill said in a release. “It is my pleasure to welcome Spencer Carbery, his wife Casey, and their two children Hudson and Vivian to the Saginaw Spirit family. I would like to thank the South Carolina Stingrays organization for their cooperation in this process. Spencer is a person of very high character, who possesses a tremendous work ethic, and an unmatched passion for the game. The progression that his team made over the last five years in South Carolina is remarkable. As an organization, we are confident in Spencer’s ability to lead our players both on and off the ice.”

Carbery was named ECHL Coach of the Year in 2014 and first runner-up for the same award in 2015 and 2016.

“My family and I are thrilled to become a part of the Great Lakes Bay Region and the Saginaw Spirit organization,” Carbery said. “I want to thank Mr. Dick Garber, Mr. Craig Goslin, and Dave Drinkill for giving me this tremendous opportunity to lead the Spirit hockey team into this exciting, new chapter of the franchise.”

He will be the seventh head coach in Spirit franchise history, joining a list that features Dennis Desrosiers, Moe Mantha, Doug Lidster, Bob Mancini, Todd Watson, and Greg Gilbert.

Carbery will also be the third youngest head coach in the OHL when the 2016-17 season begins, behind only Paul McFarland (30) of Kingston and Ryan Oulahen (31) of Flint.

The new Spirit bench boss, originally from Victoria, B.C., played for the University of Alaska-Anchorage and St. Norbert College before an ECHL career that spanned three seasons – with stops in Tulsa, Bakersfield, Stockton, Fresno and South Carolina.

He transitioned from player to assistant coach with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2010-11, then became the head coach the following campaign.

“I’ve learned so much from being a part of the South Carolina Stingrays organization, first as a player, and then transitioning into coaching over the past eight years. I can’t wait to get started in Saginaw and create a culture of excellence and putting my heart and soul into this team and community.”