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Sting Make Front Office
Changes
by Andrew
Brethauer
June 23, 2009
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The front office of the Sarnia Sting
is all on the same page according to
new Sting President Larry
Ciccarelli, who takes over the
Presidents role from Sting co-owner
Robert Ciccarelli. “This is the
first time ever that everyone at the
table is on the same page,”
Ciccarelli said in at a press
conference held Tuesday afternoon in
the SSEC. Those at the table
included Dave MacQueen, Sarnia Sting
Head Coach and newly named General
Manager; Bill Abercrombie, the new
V.P. of Operations and as well Jim
Debenham, the newly appointed Head
Scout. |
MacQueen signed a
three year deal with the Sting to become the
full time General Manager of the Sting after
serving as the interim last season. The dual
role is not heavily favored by Robert
Ciccarelli, but he sees it as a step in the
right direction. “You have to have the right
people in the right place,” said Robert
Ciccarelli. The Sting had 25 applicants for the
General Manager job, but the job fell to
MacQueen. “We knew we had the right man all
along,” said Ciccarelli. “It was very clear that
Dave shared our passion for the city and for a
winning hockey club.”
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Former Sarnia Legionnaires coach
Bill Abercrombie becomes the new
V.P. of Operations for the Sting.
The Ciccarelli’s believe the hiring
of Abercrombie along with MacQueen
will cement the future of the hockey
club. Questions about the
relationship the Sting would have
with the Legionnaires were answers
by Abercrombie. “It’s a win-win
situation,” he said. “We want to
develop players and having players
go back and forth between teams will
help.” |
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The last hiring was former Head
Scout of the Plymouth Whalers Jim
Debenham as the new Head Scout for
the Sting. Debenham spent 7 years
with the Whalers and is happy to be
in Sarnia, a place the Chatham born
Debenham calls “home”. “It was hard
to leave Plymouth,” said Debenham,
“but this was an opportunity to
build a team.” Alongside
Abercrombie, the Sting wish to begin
reaching out to their prospects and
stay in better communication with
them, something Robert Ciccarelli
said the Sting did a poor job of in
the past. |
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The three
signings sees a major shift in the front office
of the Sting, while the Ciccarelli’s see it as
an important day in Sarnia Sting history. “This
is one of the most important days in Sting
history,” said Robert Ciccarelli. “This will
allow us to compete on a daily basis.”
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