By Warren Kozireski —
Minnesota native Seth Appert was named the 33rd head coach in the history of the Rochester Americans.
“It’s an honor to become head coach of the Rochester Americans and be part of the Buffalo Sabres organization,” Appert said. “I know the passion of both fan bases and I look forward to helping develop players for the Sabres while building on the winning culture in Rochester. I would like to thank Terry and Kim Pegula, Kevyn Adams and Ralph Krueger for this incredible opportunity and their belief in me.”
He has spent the last three years alternating the head coaching duties between the Under-18 and Under-17 teams at USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program (NTDP) after an 11-year stint as head coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.
After his four-year goaltending career at Ferris State, he launched his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Denver, where he spent seven years. He got his first head coach opportunity after the Pioneers won back-to-back Frozen Four’s in 2004 and 2005.
During his first season with the NTDP in 2017-18, Appert guided the Under-18 Team to a gold medal at the Five Nations Tournament. The team also finished the season with an Eastern Conference-best 41-18-0-1 record, the team’s best finish since joining the United States Hockey League.
“I am really excited about our new head coach in Rochester,” new Buffalo Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams said. “He is a great leader and has a track record in development.
“We had the luxury of time…I interviewed a lot of people with different backgrounds. We narrowed it down and Ralph (Sabres head coach Krueger) got involved and Seth kept rising to the top with his communication skills and development background.”
The Cottage Grove, MN (near St. Paul) native will have to wait a bit before launching his professional coaching career as the American Hockey League announced the season will begin Dec. 4 at the earliest.
