At the conclusion of the 2025-26 AHL season, the Calgary Wranglers [https://calgarywranglers.com/] announced that assistant coach and former interim head coach Joe Cirella would not be returning to the coaching staff for the upcoming season. Today, the club announced it hired former Sault Ste. Marie bench boss John Dean to be an assistant coach. According to his Elite Prospects [https://www.eliteprospects.com/staff/16320/john-dean] profile, Dean began coaching AAA hockey in 2008, advancing through the North York Rangers program, starting with the U16 and U18 before taking over the OJHL team as an assistant and head coach. Naturally, his ascension continued into the OHL, where he served as an assistant coach with the North Bay Battalion for three seasons, before taking a turn as head coach and assistant general manager of the Toronto Patriots. In 2018, the Soo Greyhounds hired Dean to be their coach, a role he has held for the past eight seasons. During his time leading the Greyhounds, they missed the playoffs only once in 2022-23, aside from the canceled 2020 and 2021 postseasons. However, Dean never guided any of his clubs to the third round of the OHL playoffs. Interestingly, Dean is familiar with two players in the Calgary Flames and Wranglers system, Rory Kerins [https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/504297/rory-kerins] and Morgan Frost [https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/317025/morgan-frost]. During his three seasons with the Greyhounds, all under Dean's tutelage, Kerins went from a 23-point player up to 59 and then a career best 118 points from 2018 to 2022. He also had 30-goal and 43-goal campaigns. After being a first-round draft pick, 27th overall, Frost became an alternate captain for Dean in his final season in the OHL, putting up 109 points in 58 games, thanks in part to 37 goals. It was a slight dip in production from 43 goals and 112 points, but Frost earned a spot on that year's World Juniors team for Canada, tallying eight points in five games. Meanwhile, there's no word yet on whether Cirella will find another coaching job in professional hockey. After a 15-year career [https://www.eliteprospects.com/staff/2190/joe-cirella] in the NHL, IHL, and DEL, he became an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers in 1997 and has been wearing a suit behind a bench ever since. Since 2018-19, Cirella has been part of the Wranglers organization, initially joining the club as an assistant coach when they were in Stockton. LATEST FLAMES HEADLINES Where the Flames Rank Among NHL's Longest Stanley Cup Droughts [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/latest-news/where-the-flames-rank-among-nhls-longest-stanley-cup-droughts] Hart Trophy, Selke Trophy Among NHL Awards Never Won by a Flame [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/players/hart-trophy-selke-trophy-among-nhl-awards-never-won-by-a-flame] Where Are They Now? Revisiting Conroy's Flames Draft Picks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/players/where-are-they-now-revisiting-conroys-flames-draft-picks] A Brief Flames Stint Is Keeping Jagr's Wild Stanley Cup Final Teammate Streak Alive [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/players/a-brief-flames-stint-is-keeping-jagrs-wild-stanley-cup-final-teammate-streak-alive] Don't Look Now, But Flames' Huska is the Pacific Division's Longest-Tenured Coach [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames/latest-news/dont-look-now-but-flames-huska-is-the-pacific-divisions-longest-tenured-coach]
