Hulton named as Head Coach
Charlottetown Islanders General Manager Grant Sonier announced today that Jim Hulton has been named the new Head Coach of the Charlottetown Islanders.
“We went through a long process of narrowing the candidates down to who we felt was the right fit. Jim brings with him an impressive resume and experience at all levels. He is a motivator, a teacher, and a guy that we think can bring this team to the next level” said Sonier.
“I am thrilled to be heading to Charlottetown and joining the Islanders family. It is a team that is full of high quality talent, which includes several NHL draft picks and is coming off a very successful year”, said Hulton. “When I interviewed with Grant for the first time it felt like a natural conversation; combining that and my history with Assistant Coach Connor Cameron it felt like a really good fit.”
Hulton, 46 and a native of Kingston, Ontario, comes to the Islanders from the Tri-City Storm of the USHL where he spent the last two seasons as both General Manager and Head Coach. In his time with Tri-City, he had an overall record of 54-51 with a .514 winning percentage in 105 games and was named USHL General Manager of the Year in 2015.
He started his coaching career in the Ontario Hockey League where he served as an Assistant Coach for the North Bay Centennials. He then moved in to Head Coaching roles with the Missisagua IceDogs, Belleville Bulls, and Kingston Frontenacs recording 216 wins. From 2008-2011 Hulton served as an Assistant Coach with the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Hulton also has experience with Hockey Canada’s National Junior Team, which includes winning a silver medal in 2004 and gold medal in 2005.
In regards to expectations for the upcoming season Hulton commented, “We want to be a team that is difficult to play against every night. We want to be an exciting team that Islanders will love to watch, but other teams will hate to play against”, said Hulton.
“Jim will demand a lot from his players. He demands a locker room that shows up to compete every night, and to get better with every practice. He is an extremely organized individual who dedicates a tremendous amount of time on his craft of being a head coach”, continued Sonier.
The Islanders will be hosting a press conference to officially introduce Jim Hulton as Head Coach on Thursday, July 2 at 10 a.m. The press conference will be held in the main lobby of the Eastlink Centre and is open to the public.
Islanders fans are reminded that Season Tickets are on sale at the Islanders administration office. For full ticket details visit charlottetownislanders.com or by phone at 1(902) 892-7349.