Navan, Ont. —
The Cumberland Grads today announced the appointment of Tony Iob as head coach ahead of the 2017-18 season.
For Iob, 46, the Grads post is his third stint in the CCHL, with previous stops in Pembroke and Kanata. The Italian-Canadian dual citizen takes over in Cumberland for Halifax-bound bench boss Sylvain Favreau.
“Cumberland is a very well-run organization (and) the roster looks fantastic so far,” said Iob, who played in 850 professional games over a 16-year playing career. “Sylvain has put a good team together, so I don’t feel like I’m walking into a time bomb — this team is going to be competitive.”
Grads owner and general manager Steve Barban enthused Iob’s resume and off-ice character.
“Tony is a natural leader and possesses all the qualities of an excellent coach,” said Barban. “As good an athlete and leader that Tony is, he’s an even better person which is number one in my books — we’re very pleased to welcome Tony to Grads country.”
Iob will hope to put his experience from a challenging year-plus in his previous Junior-A head-coaching post — with the then-Kanata Stallions — to good use with the Grads.
“It was a really big learning curve (going) from Pembroke to Kanata,” said Iob. “Good or bad, you learn, (and) obviously I’m a better coach today because of that and that experience will help me move forward with this team.”
Tony Iob Bio
Born Jan. 2, 1971 in Renfrew, Ont…Scored two goals for Italy in 2006 Winter Olympics…played professionally in five countries…led professional league in scoring four times…3,340 career penalty minutes…Previously coached with CCHL-2 Renfrew, the University of Ottawa, Pembroke, Kanata and Arnprior.
The Grads will face the Pembroke Lumber Kings in the first game of the 2017-18 CCHL regular season at 1:30 p.m. on Sat. Sep. 2nd; Cumberland will host the regional-rival Rockland Nationals in its home opener on Sun. Sep. 10 (3 p.m.).
