Dave Cameron, named the new head coach of the Binghamton Senators on Aug. 25, was formally introduced to the Binghamton community on Tuesday afternoon at a press conference before a crowd of media and local dignitaries.
Cameron comes to the B-Sens from the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where his teams compiled a regular season record of 145-87-30-10 while reaching the OHL’s Eastern Conference finals in each of Cameron’s four seasons at the helm.
Ottawa General Manager John Muckler was impressed by Cameron’s achievements, and said he even sees a little of himself in Cameron.
“Dave is a guy who came up similar to how I came up in the coaching ranks,” said Muckler. “He shows his dedication by his record and he shows his success by his record and he will be successful here too.”
Muckler also used the press conference to announce that John Paddock will be returning to Binghamton in the event of a lockout to assist Cameron with the coaching duties. Paddock spent the last two seasons as head coach of the B-Sens, and was named an assistant coach in Ottawa for 2004-05.
“If there were a lockout, John would stay in Bingo and assist Dave Cameron with the duties here until the National Hockey League decided to play again,” said Muckler. “I think he (Paddock) will be an asset and the two will work together very well.”
Cameron agreed with Muckler that working with Paddock is a great opportunity as he moves from junior hockey to the professional ranks in the American Hockey League.
“The fact that John Paddock is going to be around (in the event of a lockout) to help out is going to make my transition easier and I am pretty excited about that,” said Cameron.
Paddock is the third-winningest head coach in AHL history with 495 career regular-season victories, and he has guided three different teams to Calder Cup championships, most recently Hartford in 2000. Paddock has even served as a co-coach before, working alongside Tom McVie with the 1984-85 Maine Mariners.
Regardless of whether he is on his own or receiving assistance from Paddock, Cameron is well aware of the opportunity coaching in the AHL presents to him for his future.
“I think I am joining three real solid hockey franchises and an institution in the American Hockey League which we know what its history is of developing players, coaches and referees for the next level.”
