June 18, 2018 09:26 PM
(ABC 6 News) – It’s been close to two months since Rochester’s newest junior hockey team, the NA3HL’s Rochester Grizzlies, hired their first head coach in franchise history—and he’s just getting settled in.
Casey Mignone, the first head coach in Grizzlies franchise history, has hit the ground running in his first few months on the job—prior to leading the Grizzlies, Mignone didn’t have any previous junior hockey coaching experience.
ABC 6 News caught up with Mignone during the Grizzlies’ jersey unveiling on Monday. Mignone said he first arrived in Rochester “about a month ago,” but he hasn’t had much time to do any sight-seeing—Mignone said he’s been at three NAHL pre-draft camps in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, as well as a USHL camp in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
“It’s been crazy and hectic, but in a good way,” Mignone said. “It’s been a lot of fun. I’m getting my fair share of the Midwest, but I’m really excited to be out here.”
Casey Mignone, Head Coach of the Rochester Grizzlies
Mignone has been working closely with Austin Bruins’ head coach Steve Howard in the last month—the Grizzlies are the newest NA3HL affiliate of the NAHL’s Bruins.
“With (Howard’s) NA3HL knowledge, he kind of gets the process there,” Mignone said. “It’s a little new to me, but having him to work with and (assistant coach Keenan Kelly) who has been with the Bruins the last three years, he knows North American League really well, so does Coach Howard, so they’ve been a huge help so far.”
Mignone is hoping to load up the Grizzlies with “talented” and “local” hockey players and hopes they can climb up high in the standings in their inaugural season.
“We want to be competitive right away. Wins and losses will take care of themselves, as long as we work hard. We need to give back to this community as well, that’s something we focus on as well. We need to handle ourselves properly.”
Credits
Updated: June 18, 2018 09:26 PM
Created: June 18, 2018 06:19 PM
Copyright 2018 – KAAL-TV, LLC A Hubbard Broadcasting Company