Head Coach Bob Nardella has added an experienced hand to the Wolves’ coaching staff.
The Wolves announced Wednesday that Dave Barr has been named assistant coach.
The 62-year-old Toronto native will serve as Nardella’s assistant and primarily will handle the defense and penalty kill.
“Dave has a whole lot of experience coaching professional hockey,” Nardella said. “During our conversations, I just felt very comfortable with him and felt we were on the same page so I wanted to make him part of the Chicago Wolves. His experience is going to help everyone.”
Following a lengthy playing career that included 614 career NHL games with the Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Hartford Whalers, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars from 1981-94 as well as stints in the AHL and IHL, Barr joined the coaching ranks.
Barr has been an assistant coach with five NHL teams, including the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, New Jersey Devils, Buffalo Sabres and San Jose Sharks.
“I’ve played against the Wolves and I’ve coached against them and they’ve always put a good team on the ice,” Barr said. “They’ve got a great history of winning and that’s the kind of organization I want to be associated with. I want to have the opportunity to win. I look forward to working with (general manager) Wendell Young and with Bob Nardella and we’ll work toward having the best season we can.”
Barr also spent five seasons as the head coach and general manager of the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) from 2004-08, three seasons (1997-2000) as an assistant coach with the Houston Aeros and one season as the team’s general manager and head coach (2000-01) followed by a stint as the team’s President and GM.
In 2021, Barr was head coach of the Team Canada squad that won gold at the IIHF U18 World Championships in Frisco, Texas.
The last two seasons, Barr was head coach of the Vienna Capitals of the Austrian ICE Hockey League.
“I’ve done a lot of lot things in my career so I’ll be able to help the team in different ways,” Barr said. “It’s always good to have a different point of view or different angle. Bob obviously makes the final decision on things but I think I bring a lot to the plate to help him and help our team.”
For ticket information for the 2023-24 season–everything from full-season to 12-game plans to group outing and hospitality spaces–contact a ticket representative at 1-800-THE-WOLVES.
