Skyhawks to introduce new head coach today

Darren Turcotte is expected to be behind the North Bay Skyhawks bench in 2006-2007. File Photo.

The North Bay Skyhawks are holding a press conference at Memorial Gardens Wednesday afternoon where it's expected the club will introduce Darren Turcotte as the club's fourth head coach in the franchise's fifth season in the Gateway city.

The job opening came about when Skyhawks head coach Kevin Kerr decided to pursue other hockey coaching opportunities closer to his home in Flint, Michigan.

Skyhawks General Manager made it public more than a month ago that the two men on his short list for the job were former Skyhawks head coach Randy Edmonds and Darren Turcotte.

Edmonds turned the job down and Turcotte was unsure of the Skyhawks coaching job too as he's been waiting to hear about the status of a few OHL assistant coaching positions that he had applied for.

Turcotte's coaching experience includes creating Nashville's first ever Midget AAA program along with coaching in the U.S. National Development Program. The former NHLer finished last year as the head coach of the Abitibi Eskimos who lost in the opening round of the NOJHL playoffs to the North Bay Skyhawks.