Wild Announce Completion of 2023-24 Coaching Staff, Hire Andrew Sarauer as Assistant Coach
WENATCHEE, Wash. – The Wenatchee Wild, proud members of the Western Hockey League (WHL), are excited to announce the hiring of Andrew Sarauer as the team’s new assistant coach. Sarauer joins the Wild staff following a 15-year professional playing career in the United States and Europe, and his hiring completes the Wild coaching staff for its inaugural WHL season.
“I am incredibly honored and thrilled for the opportunity to be a part of the Wild organization,” said Sarauer. “I look forward to working alongside Kevin Constantine and Chris Clark, and to help our players become quality young men. I have heard nothing but good things about Wenatchee, and I can’t wait to see the city and get started.”
Hailing from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Sarauer knows the Canadian junior hockey scene well, playing for the Victoria Salsa and Langley Hornets in the British Columbia Hockey League before embarking on a four-year NCAA Division I playing career at Northern Michigan University. His professional playing career included four seasons with teams in the American Hockey League and ECHL, as well as one season in Denmark and another in Austria.
His most notable professional accomplishments came during a nine-year run with the Fehervar AV19 club in Hungary, where he played more than 400 games and tallied more than 300 career points. His 59 points during the 2014-15 season led the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga, and his efforts on the international stage that season helped lead the Hungarian national team to a second-place finish in Group A of the Division I World Championship tournament. That second-place finish allowed Hungary to climb to the top division of international competition for the first time since 2009, and only the second time since 1939.
Sarauer’s addition not only completes the Wild coaching staff for the 2023-24 season, but reunites him with Constantine, who was recently hired as Wenatchee’s head coach after serving as Fehervar AV19’s head coach during Sarauer’s last two seasons in Hungary.
“We are very excited to add Andrew Sarauer to our coaching staff,” said Constantine. “Andrew is just finishing his career as a player, and we feel his ability to relate to current players will be an important mix for our staff. I coached Andrew for the last two years, and respect his character and knowledge of the game. I know that Andrew, while working hard to finish his very successful playing career, was preparing himself for an opportunity to stay in the game as a coach.”
All members of the Wild coaching staff for the 2023-24 campaign are now in place, with the team retaining Clark as associate head coach and assistant general manager alongside Constantine and Sarauer. Key members of the team’s support staff are in place as well, with the team announcing the additions of athletic trainer Karina Lahti and equipment manager Trent Hugill last week.
Wenatchee’s first WHL campaign begins with a home preseason game September 9 against the Tri-City Americans, and the team’s home opener September 22 against the Portland Winterhawks. 2023-24 season tickets are still on sale – to purchase season tickets, call 509-888-7825 or stop into the team office at Town Toyota Center. Updated news and information on Wild hockey are always available through the team’s website and on the team’s social media platforms on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
