As first reported on TJHN this morning, Jon Rogger has been named the new Head Coach of the NAHL’s Amarillo Bulls. Below is the official release from the Bulls.
AMARILLO, TX – After an extensive coaching search that lasted over three weeks, the Amarillo Bulls of the North American Hockey League have found their man.
Jon Rogger was introduced as the second Bulls Head Coach in franchise history during a Thursday morning press conference in front of Fans, Corporate Partners and the media in The Corral at the Amarillo Civic Center.
A native of St. Louis Missouri, Rogger spent the past two seasons as Head Coach with the United States Hockey League’s Des Moines Buccaneers. He replaces Dennis Williams who took over as the new Head Coach with the expansion Bloomington Thunder of the United States Hockey League.
“We had specific criteria that we were looking for in the next head coach,” said CSH International Inc and Amarillo Bulls President Gary Gelinas. “The first was to have NCAA experience, they also needed to have coaching experience and they had to be a great person.”
“Jon met all those criteria. With the coaches he has mentored under, he brings valuable knowledge on how to move players on and how to build winning programs.”
New Head Coach Jon Rogger is excited for the opportunity with the Amarillo Bulls and working in the North American Hockey League.
“Amarillo is a great organization and I’m looking forward to carrying on the winning tradition that Coach Williams has brought here over the last four years,” Rogger said. “My team will play hard and physical for 60 minutes game in and game out.”
“We will be a team that our fans will want to support and will appreciate our work ethic and understand that we will leave everything out on the ice. Winning hockey games and moving players on to the next level is our main goals. I can’t wait to get started.”
Rogger knows what it takes to win a championship, having won the 2008 Robertson Cup National Championship as an Assistant Coach with the St. Louis Bandits and two USHL Clark Cup Championships with the Green Bay Gamblers. He has also been part of three USHL Regular Season Anderson Cup titles.
In four years the Gamblers won 78 per cent of its games and in 2011 set a USHL Tier I record for 47 wins and 98 points in a season. Among his other achievements, Rogger was selected as Head Coach of the 2009-2010 USHL All-Star Games, and has helped develop and move on 57 players to NCAA Division I programs. He’s also helped develop six National Hockey League Draft Picks, and two players who signed professional contracts with the Swedish Elite League.
“He is a winner and has the connections from his many years of coaching to move kids on to college hockey, which is the foundation of the Amarillo Bulls, that we have led the NAHL the past four years and we need that to continue,” Gelinas said. “Jon is the right person to help continue to achieve those results. He will put out an excellent product that will work hard and compete every night on the ice. His teams will be hard to play against. We are very proud and excited to have someone with Jon’s experience as the Bulls Head Coach.”
The Amarillo Bulls are celebrating their 5th anniversary this fall in the North American Hockey League. Season Tickets are currently on sale and fans are encouraged to take advantage of the early bird pricing that is in effect until May 26. Fans can save over $100 over Red and Silver Sections when they purchase the same ticket on game day. Silver Level Tickets are $309; Red Level are $405; Glass Tickets are $469; Pit is $535 and Child Tickets 12 and Under are $225. For further information on Season Tickets or Corporate Marketing Partnerships, please call the Bulls Office at 806-242-1122 or visit the office located at 301 South Polk in the Amarillo Building.
