BISMARCK, ND – Already holding team records for goals, assists and points, former Bismarck Bobcats forward Garrett Roth will have a new title with Bobcat Hockey, some ten years after his final season in black and gold: assistant coach.
Bobcats head coach and general manager Layne Sedevie, Roth’s collegiate teammate at Bemidji State, announced Tuesday that Roth will take over as the Bobcats’ assistant coach starting in 2012-13.
“Garrett is a good fit on a lot of levels,” explained Sedevie, who will undertake his third year as Bobcat bench boss in 2012-13, “not only are there years of familiarity between me and him, but he has experience in this league and is great at managing forwards and the power play. When I played [as a goaltender] all I did was stop pucks; Garrett knows the position of forward a lot better and will be a big help in developing the guys up front.”
During the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, Roth served as assistant coach for the Aberdeen Wings.
Roth played for the Bobcats in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, compiling 70 goals, 86 assists and 156 points in two seasons—all records that still stand in Bismarck—and raised the team’s first Borne Cup as champions of the AWHL in 2003.
“Leaving Bismarck as a player in 2003 was pretty difficult, actually,” recalled Roth, “even though I was getting ready to play D-I at Bemidji, I’d built up quite a bit of affection for the Bismarck-Mandan area. Having the chance to come back to Bobcat Hockey is really exciting both personally and professionally for me.”
Roth also holds single-season franchise records for points (88) and goals (37) set during the 2002-03 season.
“I couldn’t have been more excited when Layne told me that Garrett contacted him after the season,” said Bobcats team owner Thom Brigl. “I have kept in contact with Garrett since his time as a Bobcat player and not only do I respect his hockey knowledge, I think the world of him as a person, too.
“I’m also very excited to have two young, up-and-coming coaches behind our bench to build strong for the future.”
The combination of Sedevie, who is 29, and Roth, who is 30, comprises one of the youngest coaching tandems in the NAHL.
A native of Cary, Ill.—a Chicagoland suburb—Roth has strong connections to Great Lakes regional scouting. Chicago is an important pipeline for Bobcat recruiting, having not only produced Roth but also recent standouts that include Matt Gates (2010-11) and John Avino (2008-10).
“Garrett’s connections to Chicago and the Great Lakes region fills in a big blank on our recruiting map,” added Brigl. “It had been an area we hadn’t been able to recruit and scout as well as places like the upper Midwest and the Rocky Mountains.”
Roth, Sedevie and the Bobcats’ scouting staff will wrap up their pre-draft tryouts this weekend with a three-day tryout camp in Denver, Colo., in preparation for the 2012 NAHL Entry Draft on May 31.
Bobcat Hockey would like to thank all of its fans, staff and sponsors for a fantastic 2011-12 season—we couldn’t be Bobcats without you!