The Youngstown Phantoms have fleshed out their coaching staff for the upcoming 2010-11 season, adding Anthony Noreen as an Assistant Coach under Head Coach/General Manager Curtis Carr.
Noreen, 27, joins fellow Assistant Coach Brad Patterson, who teamed with Carr for the final 17 games of the previous season, behind the Phantoms’ bench. For the last three years, Noreen coached at the NCAA Division III level for head coach Wil Nichol at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
“I’m looking forward to help build a winning foundation and culture in Youngstown,” Noreen said. “Curt and [Assistant GM/Director of Player Personnel] Jason [Koehler] are great hockey minds and I hope to learn a lot from them during my time here.”
Nichol suggested Noreen for the Phantoms’ open coaching position during a recent phone conversation with Carr. Nichol’s background – he served two coaching stints with the USHL’s Chicago Steel during the past decade – plus the fact that three of Carr’s former players suit up for the Pointers helped connect Noreen to the Purple and Orange.
“The first time Curt and I talked went really well…we have similar philosophies and coaching styles,” Noreen said. “I feel my strength is communication with the players. You have to get to know your players in today’s game so you know how to get the best out of them.”
Immediately following a four-year playing career as a defenseman for UW-Stevens Point during which he was twice named an All-NCHA Academic All-American and served as team captain, Noreen began coaching at his alma mater in the fall of 2007.
“It’s interesting, most guys dream of playing in the NHL when they’re young, but I always wanted to be a coach,” he said. “I may not have had the most talent [as a player], but I felt like I thought the game at a higher level and saw things from a coach’s perspective.”
In an extension of his playing experience, Noreen will primarily handle the Phantoms’ defensive corps, while Patterson will help tutor the forwards. Patterson, 29, played two seasons with the defunct Youngstown Steelhounds of the Central Hockey League and was the head coach of Youngstown State University’s club hockey team last winter.
The addition of Noreen gives the Phantoms a four-man Hockey Operations department as they prepare for next week’s trio of drafts. In addition to its responsibilities with the USHL team, the Hockey Operations staff oversees the Phantom Fireworks Youth Hockey Program, YSU club hockey and youth hockey development camps.
Courtesy: Youngstown Phantoms
