Brown Bears Continue to Add to Coaching Staff
In addition to new head coach Geoff Beauparlant, fans in attendance at Brown Bears games this year will likely see some other new faces around the rink. Recently the Brown Bears announced the hiring of three new staff members, including Assistant Coach Steve Murphy, Goaltending Coach Scott Johnson, and Director of Scouting Josh Romano.
The team’s new Assistant Coach Steve Murphy is quite familiar with Brown Bear Country, having grown up locally while playing for the Alaska All Stars before spending three seasons as a player in the North American Hockey League. After junior hockey, Steve moved on to play Division III hockey for Curry College, before transferring to finish his career at the University of Saint Thomas. Most recently Steve has worked as the Brown Bears’ Head Scout in Minnesota, while also serving as the Assistant Coach and Director of Scouting with the Steele County Blades in the Minnesota Junior Hockey League (Jr. A Tier III).
Scott Johnson, the Brown Bears’ new Goaltending Coach, is another staff member who is quite familiar with the landscape of Alaskan hockey. During the past five seasons, Scott has served as the Goaltending Coach for the University of Alaska Anchorage of the WCHA. In addition he also serves as the USA Hockey Alaska Region Goaltender Coach in Chief and is owner and president of Pacific Northwest Goaltending-GDI.
Rounding out the new staff members is Josh Romano who was recently appointed the team’s Director of Scouting. Josh has spent the last two seasons working as the Eastern Regional Scout for the Fairbanks Ice Dogs of the North American Hockey League, while also coaching Midget AAA and Bantam AAA hockey during the last four seasons for the Philadelphia Little Flyers in the Atlantic District. Prior to his tenure with the Little Flyers, Josh worked as a Jr. A Tier III assistant coach and scout within the Atlantic Junior Hockey League and Metropolitan Junior Hockey League.
