Zack Stortini has been named the Roadrunners’ new assistant coach, filling the role last occupied by new head coach Steve Potvin.
Potvin, the team’s former associate head coach, was promoted to head coach on Tuesday. Potvin replaces Jay Varady, who left the club in June for a job on the Detroit Red Wings’ bench.
The 36-year-old Stortini played 860 professional games — 257 with the NHL’s Oilers and Predators — before retiring at end of the 2018-19 season. He immediately joined the staff of the Ontario Hockey League’s Sudbury Wolves as an assistant coach.
Stortini said in a news release he was “thrilled to be returning to the pro game after learning so much about coaching in the OHL with Sudbury.” He joins longtime assistant John Slaney and operations director Jake Wagman on Potvin’s bench.
“I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to join Steve Potvin’s staff with the Tucson Roadrunners and to be a part of the Arizona Coyotes organization,” he said. “I look forward to collaborating with the coaching staff, continuing the development of our prospects and I am eager to contribute to the winning culture that has been established in Tucson.”
Zack Stortini retired as a player, then joined the OHL's Sudbury Wolves as an assistant coach.
Roadrunners management is hopeful that Stortini’s pro experience — he also won two Calder Cups in three AHL finals appearances — will help a Tucson team that’s part of an organization-wide youth movement.
Or, as Roadrunners general manager John Ferguson said: “Zack’s extensive professional playing experience as a team-first competitor combined with his rise on the coaching side make him the ideal complement to John Slaney in supporting and executing Steve Potvin’s head coaching strategies while developing each player’s individual skills and capabilities.”
Potvin called Stortini “a great fit for our staff.”
“Zack is talented, respected and well liked in our small hockey community,” Potvin said. “He’ll be an asset to our organization.”
