Roy Sommer
Roy A. Sommer (born April 5, 1957 in Oakland, California) is a former professional ice hockey player who played three games for the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL in 1981. He is currently the head coach of the American Hockey League's San Jose Barracuda, a position he has held from 1998 to 2019 and since 2020. The Barracuda, the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, have also been known as the Kentucky Thoroughblades, Cleveland Barons, Worcester Sharks throughout his tenure. He is the longest tenured head coach with the same organization in the AHL and has the most AHL wins as head coach.
| Roy Sommer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
April 5, 1957 Oakland, California, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Muskegon Lumberjacks (IHL) Indianapolis Checkers (IHL) Maine Mariners (AHL) Wichita Wind (CHL) Edmonton Oilers (NHL) Houston Apollos (CHL) Grand Rapids Owls (IHL) Spokane Flyers (PHL) Dayton/Grand Rapids Owls (IHL) Saginaw Gears (IHL) | ||
| NHL Draft |
101st overall, 1977 Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| Playing career | 1977–1987 | ||
Sommer grew up in the San Francisco area where he played youth hockey for Skyline High School before moving to Calgary at age 17.[1]
Coaching career
On November 1, 2009, while with the Worcester Sharks, Sommer became just the fourth head coach in AHL history to reach 400 wins.[2]
On February 10, 2016, while with the San Jose Barracuda, Sommer became the winningest head coach in AHL history when he reached 637 wins. He surpassed Bun Cook, who spent 19 seasons as a head coach in the AHL.[3]
He won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's coach of the year in 2017 after leading the San Jose Barracuda to the best regular season finish in the AHL's Pacific Division.[4]
On December 11, 2019, after the NHL San Jose Sharks fired head coach Peter DeBoer and his staff, Sommer left the San Jose Barracuda to serve as the Sharks associate coach under interim head coach Bob Boughner.[5] After working the final 37 games of the 2019–20 NHL season with the Sharks, Sommer returned to the Barracuda on September 22, 2020.[6]
Personal life
Sommer and his wife Melissa who works at Kennedy Middle school Cupertino as a special education instructor, have a three children together: daughter Kira, son Castan and son Marley, who has Down syndrome.[7]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | P | PIM | ||
| 1974–75 | Edmonton Oil Kings | WCHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Spruce Grove Mets | AJHL | 53 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 185 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Calgary Centennials | WCHL | 70 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 155 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Calgary Centennials | WCHL | 50 | 16 | 22 | 38 | 111 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 8 | ||
| 1977–78 | Saginaw Gears | IHL | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Dayton/Grand Rapids Owls | IHL | 45 | 20 | 18 | 38 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Spokane Flyers | PHL | 45 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 196 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Grand Rapids Owls | IHL | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Houston Apollos | CHL | 69 | 24 | 31 | 55 | 246 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | ||
| 1980–81 | Wichita Wind | CHL | 57 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 212 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 61 | ||
| 1980–81 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Wichita Wind | CHL | 76 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 193 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Wichita Wind | CHL | 73 | 22 | 39 | 61 | 130 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 67 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 202 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 24 | ||
| 1984–85 | Maine Mariners | AHL | 80 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 175 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 27 | ||
| 1985–86 | Indianapolis Checkers | IHL | 37 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 118 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | IHL | 27 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 109 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 92 | ||
| 1986–87 | Muskegon Lumberjacks | IHL | 65 | 14 | 13 | 27 | 219 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 44 | ||
| NHL totals | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| IHL totals | 195 | 51 | 56 | 107 | 547 | 27 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 136 | ||||
| CHL totals | 275 | 76 | 120 | 196 | 781 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 69 | ||||
References
- "1977 NHL Amateur Draft -- Roy Sommer". Hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
- "Worcester Sharks Head Coach Roy Sommer Collects 400th Win". Worcester Sharks. November 1, 2009. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
- "Sommer sets career wins record with No. 637". American Hockey League. February 11, 2016.
- "SOMMER NAMED AHL COACH OF THE YEAR". American Hockey League. April 12, 2017.
- "Sharks Announce Changes to Coaching Staff". San Jose Sharks. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- "San Jose Sharks Announce Organizational Coaching Staff". San Jose Sharks. National Hockey League. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
- "Roy Sommer is a record-setting AHL coach, but his team would be lost without son Marley". The Hockey News. March 26, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Worcester Sharks profile