Former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds coach Sheldon Keefe has been named the head coach of the Toronto Marlies, the team announced.
Full details on the announcement of Sheldon Keefe as our new head coach can be found here: http://t.co/i6gblenVwr #MarliesLive
— Toronto Marlies (@TorontoMarlies) June 8, 2015
The move has been long rumored ever since the Marlies let go of Gord Dineen. Keefe had a big connection to the opening with his former general manager – and one of his biggest fans – Kyle Dubas being the assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. There was a brief moment where Keefe’s name circulated the rumor mill for the Leafs head coaching vacancy that went to Mike Babcock, but this role makes much more sense as Keefe can become adjusted to the pro game himself.
https://twitter.com/LiamRMcGuire/status/607949965885894656
https://twitter.com/LiamRMcGuire/status/607964923327594496
Here’s the announcement by the club:
“We would like to thank the Soo Greyhounds ownership group and General Manager Kyle Raftis for giving us permission to approach Sheldon a few weeks ago,” said Kyle Dubas. “As we went through this process, given our goal of finding an elite young coach to develop our prospects with the Marlies, it was clear to our management group that Sheldon Keefe was the best choice for our organization. For nearly a decade – since he arrived in Pembroke and through his time in Sault Ste. Marie – Sheldon has simply excelled at maximizing each players potential while coaching very successful teams at the same time. That balance is exactly what we set out to find for the Marlies.”
The former Tampa Bay second-round pick has shown a ton of promise coaching in the OHL. Last year he was the OHL and CHL Coach of the Year after posting a ridiculous 54-12-0-2 record, which netted a franchise high 110 points. His club also scored a CHL high 342 goals.
https://twitter.com/vcarneiro/status/607907503008006144
Keefe is entering a promising situation with the Marlies. The Leafs have finally taken a development approach, which means good prospects will spend more time developing with the team. Next year’s squad is expected to feature William Nylander, Connor Brown, Antoine Bibeau, Brendan Leipsic and Frederik Gauthier. That’s a very solid group. Keefe will be in charge of making sure those players develop into NHL players.
Big day for the @TorontoMarlies. Welcome to our new Head Coach Sheldon Keefe. pic.twitter.com/Cxwx11KxcZ
— Brad Lynn (@Brad_Lynn2) June 8, 2015
On the surface, this seems like a great hire for the club.
