In 14 years, Manchester has seen two of its local products grow within the Monarchs’ organization. The first was former Manchester Memorial and St. Anselm College standout Hubie McDonough III, now the director of the hockey operations with the AHL’s Monarchs, who just captured the Calder Cup Trophy.
The second was former Trinity High of Manchester stalwart Matt Welch, who worked his way up through the front office and will start the new ECHL season as the president/governor of the Monarchs this fall.
In keeping with the local theme, the Monarchs announced Monday that former defenseman and two-time captain Richard Seeley will be the next head coach for the 2015-16 season. Seeley didn’t grow up as a youth in Manchester like McDonough or Welch, but he’s proud to let everyone know that the Queen City has been his home since 2003.
“Since 2003, I’ve played many years here with the Monarchs, my family and I have settled down in Manchester and we just celebrated the birth of our son (Vance) at Elliot Hospital last September,” said Seeley. “I know what it means to be a Monarch, know what it means to the city to have this great franchise here. This is my home, it’s a great fit for me and my family and I can’t wait for the season to start.”
A month ago, it seemed certain Jason Christie, the head coach of the Ontario Reign, was going to be behind the bench this fall in Manchester for the initial ECHL season. But Christie, an outstanding coach with over 400 coaching wins in the ECHL, including 10 playoff appearances in 12 seasons (including his years at Peoria. 2000-05; Utah. 2005-08), decided he didn’t want to leave the West Coast.
“I know the Kings reached out to him to come to Manchester and had he accepted, we would have also been in good shape because Jason is a great coach,” said Welch. “But he has deep ties in California and I imagine he wanted to pursue other options there for himself and his family. We’re thrilled to have Richard. who was a great player in Manchester and knows our organization very well.”
A month ago. Seeley said he and the Monarchs held some “mutual” discussions, but no one knew for certain what was going to happen. “You had the Monarchs pursuing the Calder Cup, Ontario playing deep into their playoffs,” said Seeley. “I just told the Monarchs I had an interest in the job if it opened up. I honestly didn’t think it would happen, figuring Jason (Christie) was going to come here. But he decided not to and the opportunity eventually came to me.”
Seeley played seven seasons in the AHL, four with Manchester over two stints (2001-2004, 2005-06). He played two seasons in Lowell (1999-2001) and one with Bridgeport (2004-05) before closing out that same season with Norfolk for just 12 games. He never played in the National Hockey League. His four seasons as a defenseman in Manchester were his most productive, playing over 60 games in each of his first three seasons and 56 when he returned for his second stint in 2005-06. Seeley was known as a hard-working, gritty defender and his teammates recognized it to name him captain twice.
“I came back to the arena recently, was on the ice shaking hands with the (current) Monarchs players in the Calder Cup finals,” said Seeley. “The night I was there, the building was full of energy and it reminded me of the time I was here playing in Manchester. This is a special place, a special city with great fans who support the team. It’s very humbling for me to come back.”
Overall, Seeley played in 249 games with the Monarchs and he was a two-time nominee for the AHL’s Man of the Year award for outstanding community service. “He’s one of the most popular players in our franchise’s history,” said Welch, who will formally announce Seeley as the new head coach in a press conference today at 3 p.m. at Verizon Wireless Arena.
Overall, Seeley brings 15 years of professional playing experience to the job, including three years in the Western Hockey League and five in the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. He was selected as the 137th overall pick (sixth round) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft draft by the Kings.
Now he faces his next challenge, being the head coach of a professional team for the first time.
“I’ve played for some great coaches, people like Bruce Boudreau, Jim Hughes, Greg Cronin, Trent Yawney,” said Seeley. “You can say I will take something from each of those coaches who taught me a great deal. Coaching is about teaching and it’s also about learning too. I can tell you Bruce Boudreau is still learning something new every day and he’s been coaching a long time.”
The second was former Trinity High of Manchester stalwart Matt Welch, who worked his way up through the front office and will start the new ECHL season as the president/governor of the Monarchs this fall.
In keeping with the local theme, the Monarchs announced Monday that former defenseman and two-time captain Richard Seeley will be the next head coach for the 2015-16 season. Seeley didn’t grow up as a youth in Manchester like McDonough or Welch, but he’s proud to let everyone know that the Queen City has been his home since 2003.
“Since 2003, I’ve played many years here with the Monarchs, my family and I have settled down in Manchester and we just celebrated the birth of our son (Vance) at Elliot Hospital last September,” said Seeley. “I know what it means to be a Monarch, know what it means to the city to have this great franchise here. This is my home, it’s a great fit for me and my family and I can’t wait for the season to start.”
A month ago, it seemed certain Jason Christie, the head coach of the Ontario Reign, was going to be behind the bench this fall in Manchester for the initial ECHL season. But Christie, an outstanding coach with over 400 coaching wins in the ECHL, including 10 playoff appearances in 12 seasons (including his years at Peoria. 2000-05; Utah. 2005-08), decided he didn’t want to leave the West Coast.
“I know the Kings reached out to him to come to Manchester and had he accepted, we would have also been in good shape because Jason is a great coach,” said Welch. “But he has deep ties in California and I imagine he wanted to pursue other options there for himself and his family. We’re thrilled to have Richard. who was a great player in Manchester and knows our organization very well.”
A month ago. Seeley said he and the Monarchs held some “mutual” discussions, but no one knew for certain what was going to happen. “You had the Monarchs pursuing the Calder Cup, Ontario playing deep into their playoffs,” said Seeley. “I just told the Monarchs I had an interest in the job if it opened up. I honestly didn’t think it would happen, figuring Jason (Christie) was going to come here. But he decided not to and the opportunity eventually came to me.”
Seeley played seven seasons in the AHL, four with Manchester over two stints (2001-2004, 2005-06). He played two seasons in Lowell (1999-2001) and one with Bridgeport (2004-05) before closing out that same season with Norfolk for just 12 games. He never played in the National Hockey League. His four seasons as a defenseman in Manchester were his most productive, playing over 60 games in each of his first three seasons and 56 when he returned for his second stint in 2005-06. Seeley was known as a hard-working, gritty defender and his teammates recognized it to name him captain twice.
“I came back to the arena recently, was on the ice shaking hands with the (current) Monarchs players in the Calder Cup finals,” said Seeley. “The night I was there, the building was full of energy and it reminded me of the time I was here playing in Manchester. This is a special place, a special city with great fans who support the team. It’s very humbling for me to come back.”
Overall, Seeley played in 249 games with the Monarchs and he was a two-time nominee for the AHL’s Man of the Year award for outstanding community service. “He’s one of the most popular players in our franchise’s history,” said Welch, who will formally announce Seeley as the new head coach in a press conference today at 3 p.m. at Verizon Wireless Arena.
Overall, Seeley brings 15 years of professional playing experience to the job, including three years in the Western Hockey League and five in the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. He was selected as the 137th overall pick (sixth round) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft draft by the Kings.
Now he faces his next challenge, being the head coach of a professional team for the first time.
“I’ve played for some great coaches, people like Bruce Boudreau, Jim Hughes, Greg Cronin, Trent Yawney,” said Seeley. “You can say I will take something from each of those coaches who taught me a great deal. Coaching is about teaching and it’s also about learning too. I can tell you Bruce Boudreau is still learning something new every day and he’s been coaching a long time.” – See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150706/SPORTS0702/150709469/1003/sports#sthash.TOeStfzG.dpuf
The second was former Trinity High of Manchester stalwart Matt Welch, who worked his way up through the front office and will start the new ECHL season as the president/governor of the Monarchs this fall.
In keeping with the local theme, the Monarchs announced Monday that former defenseman and two-time captain Richard Seeley will be the next head coach for the 2015-16 season. Seeley didn’t grow up as a youth in Manchester like McDonough or Welch, but he’s proud to let everyone know that the Queen City has been his home since 2003.
“Since 2003, I’ve played many years here with the Monarchs, my family and I have settled down in Manchester and we just celebrated the birth of our son (Vance) at Elliot Hospital last September,” said Seeley. “I know what it means to be a Monarch, know what it means to the city to have this great franchise here. This is my home, it’s a great fit for me and my family and I can’t wait for the season to start.”
A month ago, it seemed certain Jason Christie, the head coach of the Ontario Reign, was going to be behind the bench this fall in Manchester for the initial ECHL season. But Christie, an outstanding coach with over 400 coaching wins in the ECHL, including 10 playoff appearances in 12 seasons (including his years at Peoria. 2000-05; Utah. 2005-08), decided he didn’t want to leave the West Coast.
“I know the Kings reached out to him to come to Manchester and had he accepted, we would have also been in good shape because Jason is a great coach,” said Welch. “But he has deep ties in California and I imagine he wanted to pursue other options there for himself and his family. We’re thrilled to have Richard. who was a great player in Manchester and knows our organization very well.”
A month ago. Seeley said he and the Monarchs held some “mutual” discussions, but no one knew for certain what was going to happen. “You had the Monarchs pursuing the Calder Cup, Ontario playing deep into their playoffs,” said Seeley. “I just told the Monarchs I had an interest in the job if it opened up. I honestly didn’t think it would happen, figuring Jason (Christie) was going to come here. But he decided not to and the opportunity eventually came to me.”
Seeley played seven seasons in the AHL, four with Manchester over two stints (2001-2004, 2005-06). He played two seasons in Lowell (1999-2001) and one with Bridgeport (2004-05) before closing out that same season with Norfolk for just 12 games. He never played in the National Hockey League. His four seasons as a defenseman in Manchester were his most productive, playing over 60 games in each of his first three seasons and 56 when he returned for his second stint in 2005-06. Seeley was known as a hard-working, gritty defender and his teammates recognized it to name him captain twice.
“I came back to the arena recently, was on the ice shaking hands with the (current) Monarchs players in the Calder Cup finals,” said Seeley. “The night I was there, the building was full of energy and it reminded me of the time I was here playing in Manchester. This is a special place, a special city with great fans who support the team. It’s very humbling for me to come back.”
Overall, Seeley played in 249 games with the Monarchs and he was a two-time nominee for the AHL’s Man of the Year award for outstanding community service. “He’s one of the most popular players in our franchise’s history,” said Welch, who will formally announce Seeley as the new head coach in a press conference today at 3 p.m. at Verizon Wireless Arena.
Overall, Seeley brings 15 years of professional playing experience to the job, including three years in the Western Hockey League and five in the United Kingdom, Germany and Austria. He was selected as the 137th overall pick (sixth round) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft draft by the Kings.
Now he faces his next challenge, being the head coach of a professional team for the first time.
“I’ve played for some great coaches, people like Bruce Boudreau, Jim Hughes, Greg Cronin, Trent Yawney,” said Seeley. “You can say I will take something from each of those coaches who taught me a great deal. Coaching is about teaching and it’s also about learning too. I can tell you Bruce Boudreau is still learning something new every day and he’s been coaching a long time.” – See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20150706/SPORTS0702/150709469/1003/sports#sthash.TOeStfzG.dpuf
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