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Wranglers hire former Soo Greyhounds coach John Dean as AHL assistant coach

Photo credit: Photo by Terry Wilson / OHL Images
Jun 12, 2026, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Jun 12, 2026, 11:53 EDT
The Calgary Wranglers announced on Friday morning that they have filled their assistant coach vacancy with John Dean. Dean replaces former assistant coach Joe Cirella, who made the decision to move on from the team at the end of the 2025-26 season. Dean has connections to multiple players in the organization coaching the likes of Etienne Morin and Rory Kerins of the Wranglers and Morgan Frost of the Flames.
This role with the Wranglers is Dean’s first gig in professional hockey but he was a longtime head coach in the OHL for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds for eight years. He has also coached the Toronto Patriots of the OJHL, the North Bay Battalion of the OHL as assistant coach and the North York Rangers of the OJHL in a head coaching and assistant coaching role. John Dean’s major junior coaching career spans over 17 years and he has three coaching appearances representing Team Canada in U18 and U17 Worlds.
Dean has his share of accolades behind the bench as well. He won gold at the U17 World Cup of Hockey in 2023-24, bronze at the 2022-23 World Juniors and was awarded the OJHL Coach of the year award in the 2017-18 season. His overall record for the Greyhounds sits at a winning record of 247-178-49. Last season, the Greyhounds finished with a 39-23-1-5 record, which put them fifth in the OHL and landed them a playoff spot. In the postseason, they fell in the Conference Semi Finals to the Kitchener Rangers.
In an interview with the GTHL a few years ago, Dean talked about his coaching style as relationship oriented and energized and said:
“I try to be as relationship based as possible, but I also like to hold guys to a very, very high standard. We like to get to a point with our team where that high standard’s embraced and it’s something exciting because we know it’s going to be rewarding for us in the long term. The big thing for me is that relationship side of it and maintaining it. Also, walking that fine line where we keep each other accountable in a way that generates a lot of success for the individual and for the team.”
The 45 year old coach joins the team of Brett Sutter, David Liffiton, Mackenzie Skapski and Changler Biggar. John Dean’s connection with junior hockey in Canada and his experience around young emerging players makes him a very strong hire for the Flames’ AHL affiliate.
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