Roy Sommer

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Roy Sommer
Roy Sommer.jpg
Sommer during the 2005-06 season
Born (1957-04-05) April 5, 1957 (age 64)
Oakland, California, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Center
Shot Left
Played for Muskegon Lumberjacks (IHL)
Indianapolis Checkers (IHL)
Maine Mariners (AHL)
Wichita Wind (CHL)
Edmonton Oilers (NHL)
Houston Apollos (CHL)
Grand Rapids Owls (IHL)
Spokane Flyers (PHL)
Dayton/Grand Rapids Owls (IHL)
Saginaw Gears (IHL)
NHL Draft 101st overall, 1977
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1977–1987

Roy A. Sommer (born April 5, 1957) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played three games for the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL in 1981. He is currently the head coach of the American Hockey League's San Jose Barracuda, a position he has held from 1998 to 2019 and since 2020. The Barracuda, the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks, have also been known as the Kentucky Thoroughblades, Cleveland Barons, Worcester Sharks throughout his tenure. He is the longest tenured head coach with the same organization in the AHL and has the most AHL wins as head coach.

Sommer grew up in the San Francisco area where he played youth hockey for Skyline High School before moving to Calgary at age 17.[1]

Coaching career[]

On November 1, 2009, while with the Worcester Sharks, Sommer became just the fourth head coach in AHL history to reach 400 wins.[2]

On February 10, 2016, while with the San Jose Barracuda, Sommer became the winningest head coach in AHL history when he reached 637 wins. He surpassed Bun Cook, who spent 19 seasons as a head coach in the AHL.[3]

He won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's coach of the year in 2017 after leading the San Jose Barracuda to the best regular season finish in the AHL's Pacific Division.[4]

On December 11, 2019, after the NHL San Jose Sharks fired head coach Peter DeBoer and his staff, Sommer left the San Jose Barracuda to serve as the Sharks associate coach under interim head coach Bob Boughner.[5] After working the final 37 games of the 2019–20 NHL season with the Sharks, Sommer returned to the Barracuda on September 22, 2020.[6]

Personal life[]

Sommer and his wife, Melissa, have three children together: son Marley, who has Down syndrome,[7] son Castan, who coaches men’s ice hockey at College of the Holy Cross, and daughter Kira, who is a comedian.

Career statistics[]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A P PIM
1974–75 Edmonton Oil Kings WCHL 1 0 0 0 5 — — — — —
1974–75 Spruce Grove Mets AJHL 53 16 19 35 185 — — — — —
1975–76 Calgary Centennials WCHL 70 13 24 37 155 — — — — —
1976–77 Calgary Centennials WCHL 50 16 22 38 111 9 5 9 14 8
1977–78 Saginaw Gears IHL 12 2 3 5 2 — — — — —
1977–78 Dayton/Grand Rapids Owls IHL 45 20 18 38 67 — — — — —
1978–79 Spokane Flyers PHL 45 19 30 49 196 — — — — —
1979–80 Grand Rapids Owls IHL 9 1 4 5 32 — — — — —
1979–80 Houston Apollos CHL 69 24 31 55 246 6 2 2 4 8
1980–81 Wichita Wind CHL 57 13 22 35 212 14 3 2 5 61
1980–81 Edmonton Oilers NHL 3 1 0 1 7 — — — — —
1981–82 Wichita Wind CHL 76 17 28 45 193 — — — — —
1982–83 Wichita Wind CHL 73 22 39 61 130 — — — — —
1983–84 Maine Mariners AHL 67 7 10 17 202 14 6 1 7 24
1984–85 Maine Mariners AHL 80 12 13 25 175 11 4 2 6 27
1985–86 Indianapolis Checkers IHL 37 9 10 19 118 — — — — —
1985–86 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 27 5 8 13 109 12 2 4 6 92
1986–87 Muskegon Lumberjacks IHL 65 14 13 27 219 15 3 3 6 44
NHL totals 3 1 0 1 7 — — — — —
IHL totals 195 51 56 107 547 27 5 7 12 136
CHL totals 275 76 120 196 781 20 5 4 9 69

References[]

  1. ^ "1977 NHL Amateur Draft -- Roy Sommer". Hockeydraftcentral.com. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  2. ^ "Worcester Sharks Head Coach Roy Sommer Collects 400th Win". Worcester Sharks. November 1, 2009. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  3. ^ "Sommer sets career wins record with No. 637". American Hockey League. February 11, 2016.
  4. ^ "SOMMER NAMED AHL COACH OF THE YEAR". American Hockey League. April 12, 2017.
  5. ^ "Sharks Announce Changes to Coaching Staff". San Jose Sharks. December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  6. ^ "San Jose Sharks Announce Organizational Coaching Staff". San Jose Sharks. National Hockey League. September 22, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  7. ^ "Roy Sommer is a record-setting AHL coach, but his team would be lost without son Marley". The Hockey News. March 26, 2014. Retrieved June 19, 2015.

External links[]

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