Frank Evola is off to Niagara
Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League are losing their trusted director of scouting to the rival Niagara IceDogs. Hockey News Windsor has learned that Frank Evola, who has been with the Spitfires since 2017, is headed to Niagara as its new general manager.
The 52 year old Evola, who is a Windsor native, has a long association with the OHL and the game. Prior to joining the Spitfires in 2017, Evola was a scout for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL from 2007 to 2016. He has also been a head coach at the AAA under 16 level with the Sun County Panthers, Mississauga Reps and Vaughan Kings — and the director of coaching for the Windsor Jr. Spitfires AAA program.
Evola heads to Niagara, which is in the midst of major organizational change.
The IceDogs recently announced that owner and governor Darren DeDobbelaer will step back from day to day operations on both the hockey and business sides. Meanwhile, head coach Ben Boudreau has been fired and the contracts of assistant coaches Dan Paille and Marc Slawson have not been renewed.
Moving forward, former general manager Wes Consorti will serve as an executive liaison between the aforementioned owner Darren DeDobbelaer and Frank Evola as the new GM.
During the ’24-25 season, the OHL announced that a Toronto law firm specializing in workplace law was conducting an investigation of Niagara’s organizational culture. The recent, subsequent changes involving the owner and the management and coaching staff were confirmed following the OHL’s review of the team.