Knights announce changes to Hockey Operations Staff
The London Knights announced today changes within the staff’s hockey operations department.
Moving on to new opportunities are:
- Daren Machesney (Goaltending Coach)
- Matt Bogart (Athletic Therapist)
- Thomas Black (Video & Assistant Goaltending Coach)
Thomas Black will be joining OHL Championship goaltender Michael Simpson with the Belleville Senators organization.
“First and foremost, I want to say thank you to Dale, Mark, Rob and the entire organization for giving me the opportunity to be part of the incredible franchise that is the London Knights. The Knights are a world-class organization to be sure, but the players and staff have truly become a second family. I will miss everything about being a London Knight, but I will miss the people most of all.” – Thomas Black
Matt Bogart joined the team in the 2021-22 season and will move on to pursue a new career opportunity.
“It was a great experience, and I’ll have a lot of great memories to last a lifetime. I will remember the awesome people and players I got to work with every day.” – Matt Bogart
Returning to the Knights is Goaltending Coach Dave Rook, who held the position with the team for nine previous seasons, including the 2005 and 2016 Memorial Cup Championship teams. Dave most recently served as a goaltending coach in the National Hockey League with the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023-24 season.
Athletic and Physiotherapist, Luca Paron, heads up the team’s medical department. Luca is a graduate of the Western University Master’s program through the Fowler Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic.
William Pypka joins the Knights, taking over video coach duties. William recently completed an internship with the Knights in the 2023-24 season and completed his bachelor’s degree in Sport Management from Brock University.