{"id":63145,"date":"2025-11-21T03:56:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T03:56:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/63145\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T03:56:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T03:56:11","slug":"san-jose-barracuda-barracuda-to-raise-roy-sommer-banner-on-january","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/63145\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Barracuda | BARRACUDA TO RAISE ROY SOMMER BANNER ON JANUARY\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE, Calif. \u2014\u00a0The San Jose Barracuda<\/a>\u00a0(@SJBarracuda<\/a>), proud American Hockey League<\/a> (@TheAHL<\/a>) affiliate of the San Jose Sharks<\/a> (@SanJoseSharks<\/a>),\u00a0announced today that the organization will honor legendary coach\u00a0Roy Sommer<\/a>\u00a0with a banner-raising ceremony on\u00a0Saturday, January 10,\u00a0at\u00a0Tech CU Arena\u00a0when the team takes on the Bakersfield Condors<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sommer, the winningest head coach in American Hockey League (AHL) history, spent\u00a0nearly his\u00a0entire 24-year AHL coaching career developing Sharks prospects and shaping the identity of the franchise across four cities and multiple eras.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The night will feature a pregame ceremony hosted by Barracuda voice Nick Nollenberger<\/a>\u00a0(@NickNollen<\/a>), which will honor Roy and his family, and will feature notable Sharks\u00a0executives,\u00a0alumni\u00a0and special guests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Barracuda will\u00a0wear\u00a0specialty San Jose Rhinos<\/a> jerseys to pay homage to the now\u00a0defunct\u00a0professional roller hockey team that Sommer led to a\u00a0Roller Hockey International (RHI)\u00a0championship in 1995, playing out of SAP Center at San Jose<\/a>.\u00a0The game-worn jerseys will be made available after the game via a live auction on the ice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

A Bay Area native, Sommer began his\u00a0career in the Sharks organization as an assistant\u00a0coach under Darryl Sutter<\/a>,\u00a0before being named head coach of the\u00a0American Hockey League\u2019s\u00a0Kentucky\u00a0Thoroughblades<\/a>\u00a0on May 28, 1998. That appointment sparked a remarkable run leading San Jose\u2019s AHL affiliates in Lexington (1998\u20132001), Cleveland<\/a> (2001\u201306), Worcester<\/a> (2006\u201315), and San Jose (2015\u201322). Over that span,\u00a0more than 150 of Sommer\u2019s players advanced to the National Hockey League,\u00a0including\u00a0Dan Boyle<\/a>, Justin Braun<\/a>,\u00a0Jonathan Cheechoo<\/a>, Ryane Clowe<\/a>, Logan Couture<\/a>, Dylan DeMelo<\/a>, Christian Ehrhoff<\/a>, Barclay Goodrow<\/a>, Yanni Gourde<\/a>, Thomas Greiss<\/a>, Scott Hannan<\/a>, Tomas Hertl<\/a>, Miikka Kiprusoff<\/a>, Timo Meier<\/a>, Jake Middleton<\/a>, Douglas Murray<\/a>, Evgeni Nabokov<\/a> and Joe Pavelski<\/a>.\u00a0A\u00a0testament to both his development-first approach and his lasting impact on the Sharks\u2019 pipeline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sommer rewrote the AHL record books during his tenure, surpassing multiple Hall of Famers along the way. His\u00a0828 career victories\u00a0shattered Fred “Bun” Cook\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0previous\u00a0benchmark by\u00a0nearly 200\u00a0wins, while his\u00a01,814 games coached\u00a0placed him\u00a0nearly\u00a0600\u00a0ahead of Frank Mathers<\/a> for the all-time lead. His teams captured\u00a0four division titles,\u00a0and in 2016\u201317 he earned\u00a0Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial\u00a0Award<\/a>\u00a0as the league\u2019s outstanding coach after guiding the Barracuda to the Western Conference Finals.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following his time in San Jose, Sommer joined the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> organization in 2022, serving as head coach of the San Diego Gulls<\/a>, his final year in the AHL.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prior\u00a0to\u00a0embarking on his storied coaching career, Sommer enjoyed a decade-long professional playing career.\u00a0Drafted by the Toronto Maple\u00a0Leafs<\/a>\u00a0in 1977, he scored in his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers<\/a> and won a\u00a0Calder Cup championship\u00a0with the Maine Mariners<\/a> in 1984.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2024,\u00a0during AHL All-Star weekend in San Jose, he was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

#SJBarracuda<\/p>\n