Flint, Mich. – The Flint Firebirds announced changes to the hockey operations staff today ahead of the 2023-24 season.
2022 Western Conference Coach of the Year Ted Dent will return for his third season as the Firebirds’ Head Coach but will be turning his role as General Manager over to Dave McParlan, the club’s Assistant General Manager during the 2022-23 season. McParlan has over 20 years of hockey operations experience including 17 seasons in the OHL. He returned to the organization this past season after serving as the Director of Scouting for the Firebirds until 2019. Prior to that, he was a scout for the Plymouth Whalers for nearly a decade, serving as the Director of Scouting during their final season in 2014-15.
Saverio Posa returns to the team as an Assistant Coach and the team’s Skill Development Coach. The Grand Blanc native spent the past year as the Firebirds’ Assistant/Video Coach and came to Flint as a Memorial Cup champion and former captain of the Windsor Spitfires.
Additionally, Greg Stefan (Goalie Coach – Sixth Season), Jerry Vangilder (Strength & Conditioning Coach – Second Season), Brandon Schroeder (Equipment Manager – Third Season), and Dashawn Tolbert (Head Athletic Trainer – Third Season) will return to the Firebirds staff.
The team will also welcome Reijo Ruotsalainen and Paul Flache as the team’s Assistant Coaches for the upcoming season.
“We believe we have put together one of the most talented staffs in the entire league,” General Manager Dave McParlan said. “Ted (Dent) is one of the best head coaches there is, and to surround him with so much pro hockey and coaching experience is a tremendous benefit for our hockey club. We feel this will really help the development of our players, and give us the opportunity for great success.”
Ruotsalainen was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Edmonton Oilers back in 1987 and 1990. He also won Silver Medal for Finland at the 1988 Winter Olympics and a Silver Medal, as well as was named the Best Defenseman, at the 1980 World Junior Championships. In 446 career GP with the Oilers, New York Rangers, and New Jersey Devils, he produced 344 points. After his playing career, Ruotsalainen has spent years coaching in his home country of Finland and Austria, including for EC Red Bull Salzburg.
Flache returns to the Firebirds for a second stint after being an Assistant Coach for the team from 2016-18. Flache has spent the last three seasons for the Atlanta Mad Hatters of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL), most recently as the club’s Head Coach and General Manager. He played in 190 games in the OHL for the Brampton Battalion from 1999-02. He was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the fifth round (#152 overall) in the 2000 NHL Draft and went on to play almost 400 games in both the AHL and ECHL.
“The experience of our hockey operations department for the upcoming year is almost unmatched in our league,” Owner Captain Rolf Nilsen said. “We have the most accomplished staff we have ever had and believe this will help us continue to build off of our past success and work towards the ultimate goal of bringing a championship here to Flint.”
The 2023-24 Flint Firebirds coaching staff combines over 45 years of pro hockey experience and over 65 years of pro and junior coaching experience.
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