Doug Houda returning to Detroit as Assistant Coach
By Sam Blazer
7 years agoAfter some hubbub from the local papers about the possibility of an assistant coach hiring, the Detroit Red Wings decided to make it official in short order. Today, they announced the hiring of Doug Houda to be their Assistant Coach.
Houda, may be known to Red Wings fans as the second round draft pick of the Wings back in 1984. He had a couple of stints with the Wings throughout his career, he scored the most points in his NHL career while with the team in the 1988-89 season. As a coach, he has spent about ten or so years with the Boston Bruins as their Assistant Coach. During that time period he was used as a special teams coach and a coach to the defensemen. He was a jack of all trades, that helped the Bruins immensely. It says a lot that throughout Claude Julien’s tenure that he was by his side. He could have been used as a scapegoat during their underwhelming seasons but he was with the team through the highs and the lows.
The Red Wings gave us a tiny peek behind the curtain and let us see, what they think of Houda. Jeff Blashill had a lot to say about the new hire.
“Doug was my first call and I’m real excited and thankful to add him to our staff,” Blashill said. “I think he’s going to be a great addition, very excited that we were able to secure him.”
“I thought his knowledge on penalty kill was very deep,” Blashill said. “He’s run the penalty kill for Boston for a number of years. He’s used different types of systems to success in different years, depending upon personnel. And then I also thought his work with individual defensemen was really good. Kind of the different system thoughts that he’ll bring with him from Boston. Overall he was very impressive in both his approach and in his knowledge as a coach.”
The Red Wings also announced in the same press release that goaltending coach Jim Bedard and assistant Pat Ferschweiler will not be back in their current roles. Ferschweiler will be reassigned within the organization, while Bedard was not given a new contract. It is believed that Jeff Salajko will be the new goalie coach as he has extensive history with Petr Mrazek. The move has yet to happen but from reports it looks like it will be a mere formality.
Change is happening in Detroit. Are you ready?
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