The return of David Matsos
Good player. Good coach. Good guy. Add it all up and David Matsos is back in the Ontario Hockey League, this time as an assistant coach with the Sarnia Sting. The now 51-year old Matsos won a Memorial Cup as a hard working forward with the 1993 Soo Greyhounds. He later had OHL success as a championship associate coach with the 2018 Hamilton Bulldogs that followed winning ways as an assistant with the Windsor Spitfires.
And before he began his coaching odyssey in the OHL that, besides gigs with Hamilton (now Brantford) and Windsor, also included time as the head coach of the Sudbury Wolves, Matsos made his mark at the pro level in the United Kingdom. It was in the U.K. that Matsos coached the Sheffield Steelers to back to back elite level championships in 2008 and 2009.
Now, after developing players at the Junior B level as head coach of the St. Thomas Stars, Matsos just recently got the call back to the OHL when he joined Sarnia as an assistant coach. And Matsos told Hockey News Windsor that accepting an assistant’s position with Sarnia “just felt right. I always thought about getting back to the OHL but I wasn’t about to move my family from where we are in St. Thomas. Going to Sarnia (which is about an hour’s drive from St. Thomas) gets me home for supper after practice.”
Known for his intelligence, character and friendly demeanour as well as his hockey abilities, Matsos said leaving “a good situation” in St. Thomas for the opportunity to return to the OHL coaching ranks in Sarnia “was too good of a situation to pass up. I have been fortunate to be in good situations before and this (going to Sarnia) is another one.”
To be sure, Sarnia general manager Dylan Seca knows what the Sting has added in Matsos.
“David is an experienced coach in the OHL … and has a proven track record of player development,” said Seca said. “He is also a great communicator and someone the players will truly gravitate towards. I believe he will be a great fit to our current staff as well.”
Matsos replaced Micheal Haley, who was fired last month, and joins Dustin Jeffrey — who also played in the OHL for the Greyhounds — as an assistant to Sarnia head coach Alan Letang.
“I have been around a long time and I understand the developing side (of coaching) and the importance of it and the details,” Matsos noted. “I am just going to share what I know with the players. I like to be tactical and teach them through their moments, so I am going to create an open line of communication.”
A good coach and a good guy — all in one — is back in the O.