Calgary Flames general manager Darryl Sutter announced today the addition of Jared Bednar and Steve O’Rourke as assistant coaches to the Abbotsford Heat (AHL) staff.
Bednar just finished his second season as head coach and his first season as general manager for the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL). He was named as the team’s fourth head coach on Apr. 27, 2007, following five seasons as assistant coach, and guided the club to a league championship in 2009. Bednar, 37, spent 14 seasons with the South Carolina organization as a player and coach.
O’Rourke comes to Abbotsford from the Okanagan Hockey School where he was the operations manager. O’Rourke has a wide range of coaching experience, from the KIJHL, to Major Midget in the Okanagan, to the B.C. Cup. His playing career concluded with three seasons in the UHL after also spending time with Mississippi and Louisiana (ECHL), Bracknell (BISL), University of Lethbridge (CWUAA), Penticton (BCHL) and Tri-City and Moose Jaw (WHL). He was drafted in the seventh round (159th overall) by the New York Islanders in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft.
