FORMER SAN JOSE BARRACUDA HEAD COACH ROY SOMMER SELECTED FOR INDUCTION INTO AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE HALL OF FAME
Oct 31, 2023
Springfield, Mass. – The San Jose Barracuda (@SJBarracuda), American Hockey League (@TheAHL) affiliate of the San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks), and the AHL are proud to announce that Roy Sommer has been selected for induction into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2024.
Sommer is one of four inducted members in the Class of 2024, which also includes Dennis Bonvie, Gordie Clark and Gerry Ehman.
The induction of the Class of 2024 will take place as part of the festivities at the 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU, to be hosted by the San Jose Barracuda. The American Hockey League Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Ceremony is scheduled for February 5 at Montgomery Theater in San Jose.
Few individuals are associated more strongly with the distinguished, 88-year history of the AHL than “Cowboy Roy.”
Roy spent 25 seasons behind the bench of American Hockey League teams – 24 with the San Jose Sharks organization in Kentucky, Cleveland, Worcester and San Jose, and one season as the head coach of the San Diego Gulls.
He is currently in his first season as the head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Wenatchee Wild.
During his time in the AHL, Roy became the league’s all-time leader in games coached (1,813) and wins (828). Following his final season in the AHL in 2022-23 season, Roy’s AHL coaching record stands at 828-770-110.
During his tenure within the San Jose Sharks organization, Sommer’s teams made 13 appearances in the Calder Cup Playoffs, including advancing to the AHL Conference Final with the San Jose Barracuda in 2017. That season, he was awarded the A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL Coach of the Year after leading the Barracuda to a 43-16-4-5 (.699) regular season record.
Perhaps as or more importantly, more than 150 players under Roy’s tutelage in the AHL went on to play in the National Hockey League, including Colin Blackwell, Dan Boyle, Justin Braun, Jonathan Cheechoo, Ryane Clowe, Logan Couture, Dylan DeMelo, Christian Ehrhoff, Barclay Goodrow, Yanni Gourde, Thomas Greiss, Scott Hannan, Tomas Hertl, Miikka Kiprusoff, Timo Meier, Jake Middleton, Douglas Murray, Evgeni Nabokov and Joe Pavelski.
Following a successful coaching career in the East Coast Hockey League, including capturing the 1995 Championship, Roy joined the Sharks organization in 1996. He first served as an assistant coach with the NHL club under Head Coach Darryl Sutter from 1996-98. Prior to the 1998-99 season, he was promoted to head coach of the team’s then AHL affiliate Kentucky Thoroughblades, beginning his historic coaching tenure in the league.
Roy would follow the Sharks affiliate club from Kentucky (1998-01) to Cleveland (2001-06) to Worcester (2006- 15), before the organization relocated the franchise to San Jose in 2015 to become the Barracuda. During the 2019-20 season, Roy re-joined the Sharks coaching staff as an associate coach but returned as head coach of the Barracuda the following season. During his time within the Sharks organization, he led his teams to an 808-721-107 mark.
As a player, Roy was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1977 NHL Draft (sixth round, 101st overall). He would eventually appear in three NHL games with Edmonton during the 1980-81 season and score a goal in his NHL debut as a teammate of Wayne Gretzky. Born in Oakland, California, he became just the third Californian to reach the NHL and the second Golden-State native to score a goal. In total, Roy played in 741 professional games in the NHL, AHL, International Hockey League, Central Hockey League and West Coast Hockey League. That career included 147 AHL games with the Maine Mariners (1983-85) where Roy won a Calder Cup championship in 1984. Additionally, he helped lead Muskegon to an IHL Turner Cup championship in 1985-86 and represented Team USA at the World Junior Championships in 1976-77.
Away from the rink, Roy has been personally involved in several charitable organizations including Special Olympics, autism awareness, and special hockey among others. Along with his son, Marley, who has down syndrome, Roy has made it his mission to erase stigmas associated with down syndrome and autism while volunteering his time to frequently visit and engage with those affected.
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The 2024 AHL All-Star Classic presented by Tech CU will feature the top young talent in the American Hockey League: since 1995, more than 94 percent of All-Star Classic participants have gone on to compete in the National Hockey League, including Cam Atkinson, Drake Batherson, Jordan Binnington, Jack Campbell, John Carlson, Thatcher Demko, Lukas Dostal, Connor Hellebuyck, Tristan Jarry, Jordan Kyrou, Jonathan Marchessault, Jacob Markstrom, Brandon Montour, William Nylander, Kyle Palmieri, Mikko Rantanen, Dylan Strome, Tyler Toffoli, Linus Ullmark, Vitek Vanecek and Mats Zuccarello, as well as current San Jose Sharks Logan Couture, Mike Hoffman, Luke Kunin, Thomas Bordeleau, Kaapo Kahkonen, Mackenzie Blackwood and Jacob Macdonald.
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League serves as the top development league for the players, coaches, managers, executives, broadcasters and staff of all 31 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of today’s NHL players are American Hockey League graduates, and more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame spent time in the AHL in their careers. In 2018-19, over 7 million fans attended AHL regular-season and playoff games across North America.
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