Griffins Name Former Vernon Lakers Captain Ramsay New Assistant Coach:

Former Vernon Lakers forward-captain Bruce Ramsay is stepping down as Head Coach-GM of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) Tulsa Oilers, has been named the new Assistant Coach of the American Hockey League's (AHL) Grand Rapids Griffins.

Ramsay spent the past six seasons with the Tulsa Oilers. Five seasons with the Oilers in the Central Hockey League (CHL) before the team moved to the ECHL last season.  Ramsay has 382 victories as Head Coach with five different teams (St. Pete, Port Huron, Muskegon Fury, Muskegon Lumberjacks & Tulsa) in five different leagues (ACHL, UHL, IHL, CHL & ECHL).  Ramsay played one season in Vernon helping the 1989-90 Vernon Lakers win their first Centennial Cup in a thrilling 6-5 overtime win over the highly favorite New Westminster Royals. In 53 games with the Lakers Ramsay collected (11-goals-11-assists-22-points). 

Bruce Ramsay's Player-Coaching Profile:

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=6007

This is posted on the Griffins website:

RAMSAY AND SIMON JOIN GRIFFINS' COACHING STAFF

06/29/2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Detroit Red Wings on Monday announced the hiring of Bruce Ramsay and Ben Simon as assistant coaches for the Grand Rapids Griffins. In addition, assistant coach Mike Knuble, goaltending coach Jeff Salajko and video coach Bill LeRoy will reprise their coaching roles with Grand Rapids.

Ramsay, 46, has been the head coach of the Tulsa Oilers in the ECHL and Central Hockey League for the past six seasons, compiling a 185-180-35 record in 400 regular season games from 2009-15. Most recently, Ramsay’s Oilers earned a 37-29-3-3 record in their first ECHL season and qualified for the 2015 Kelly Cup Playoffs, where they fell to the eventual champion Allen Americans in five games during the first round.

A native of Dryden, Ontario, Ramsay previously served as an assistant under Griffins head coach Todd Nelson from 2004-06, when the duo led the UHL’s Muskegon Fury to the Colonial Cup during their first season together and a 51-18-7 regular season record in their subsequent campaign. After Nelson departed for an assistant coaching position with the Chicago Wolves, Ramsay succeeded his colleague as the head coach of the Fury and produced an 84-56-12 regular season record in two seasons (2006-08) behind the bench. In all, Ramsay’s head coaching career spans 12 seasons between stints with the ACHL’s St. Pete/Winstom-Salem Parrots (2002-03), the UHL’s Port Huron Beacons (2002-04), the Fury, the IHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks (2008-09) and the Oilers.

Ramsay and Nelson were both members of the Griffins during the team’s inaugural season in 1996-97, and Ramsay collected nine goals and 14 assists in 175 games over three seasons (1996-99) with the team. Ramsay’s 781 penalty minutes as a Griffin rank second all-time in franchise history, and he’s one of just three Grand Rapids players to ever twice eclipse 300 PIM, producing 306 PIM in 1996-97 and leading the team with 310 PIM in 1997-98. In 12 seasons as a professional player (1991-02, 2004-05), Ramsay amassed 245 points (74-171—245) and 3,432 PIM in 677 games.

Simon, 37, recently concluded the 2014-15 season as an assistant coach with the Toronto Marlies and helped lead the team to a 40-27-9-0 regular season record. During the quarterfinals of the 2015 Calder Cup Playoffs, the Griffins defeated the Marlies to become the 11th team in AHL history to win a best-of-five series after trailing 0-2.

Simon’s coaching career began in 2010-11 as the head coach of the EIHL’s Sheffield Steelers. He earned a 43-10-0-1 record (0.806) and led the team to the EIHL regular season championship, before spending the following two seasons as an assistant coach with the Rockford IceHogs. The Shaker Heights, Ohio, native then posted a 41-23-4-4 record as the head coach of the Cincinnati Cyclones during 2013-14, leading his team to the Kelly Cup Finals and falling to the Alaska Aces in six games.

Including Knuble, Nelson and Ramsay, all four of Grand Rapids’ coaches are former Griffins, as Simon notched nine points (4-5—9) in 21 games with the team in 2006-07. Originally drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in the fifth round (110th overall) of the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Simon logged 81 NHL games with Atlanta and Columbus during his 11-year playing career.

This is posted on the ECHL website:

RAMSAY DEPARTS OILERS FOR AHL

June 29, 2015

TULSA, Okla. – The Tulsa Oilers announced that Bruce Ramsay is stepping down from his position as Head Coach and will accept an assistant coaching position with the Grand Rapids Griffins, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings.

Ramsay will be re-united in Grand Rapids with his long-time friend and former teammate, Todd Nelson, who was recently named the new Head Coach of the Griffins. Ramsay and Nelson played together in Grand Rapids during the 1996-97 and 1997-98 seasons and helped lead the Muskegon Fury (UHL) to a Colonial Cup Championship in the 2001-02 campaign. Nelson became the Muskegon Head Coach in 2003 and Ramsay served as his assistant from 2004-06. The duo guided the Fury to a Colonial Cup title in 2005.

“This is an incredible opportunity for me and my family and I want to thank Todd Nelson and the entire Griffins organization for believing in my abilities,” said Ramsay. “Although I am excited for the next step in my career, it is very difficult to leave Tulsa. I am extremely proud of what we were able to accomplish in six years and the Oilers’ front office staff, players, and certainly the fans, will always hold a special place for me and my family. We are so grateful for their support and their friendship.”

In six seasons behind the Tulsa bench, Ramsay guided the Oilers to three playoff appearances. The 46-year-old compiled an overall record of 185-178-35 (.507) and ranks second on the Oilers’ all-time list of regular season wins, playoff wins, and total games coached. In 2011, Ramsay coached the Oilers to their first playoff series victory in 17 years. He led the 2013-14 Oilers to a 12-win improvement over the previous season and in 2014-15, Tulsa’s first season in the ECHL, Ramsay’s squad posted 37 victories, the second-highest win total in team history.

“I want to say a special thank you to our owners, Rodney, Brandon, and Johnny Steven, my friend and General Manager, Taylor Hall, our former owner Jeff Lund, and every single one of our players for making these last six years the best years of my life,” Ramsay remarked. “The owners and the staff were always behind us and gave me the tools to succeed and improve. I feel so fortunate to have the privilege to coach so many outstanding players and I thank each and every one of them for their hard work, their sacrifice, and their respect.”