Roy A. Sommer (born April 5, 1957) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who is currently serving as the head coach of the

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

(AHL). Sommer played three games for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

during the 1980–81 season, before spending the rest of his playing career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, in the minor leagues. He was the head coach of the

San Jose Barracuda The San Jose Barracuda are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. The team will play at Tech CU Arena beginning in the 2022-23 season. The Barracuda is a relocation of the ...

from 1998 to 2019 and 2020 to 2022. The Barracuda, the AHL affiliate of the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

, have also been known as the

Kentucky Thoroughblades The Kentucky Thoroughblades were a minor professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, who existed from 1996 to 2001. The Thoroughblades were based in Lexington, Kentucky, playing home games at Rupp Arena. The Thoroughblades were ...

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

Worcester Sharks The Worcester Sharks were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that played from 2006 to 2015. Affiliated with the National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks and located in Worcester, Massachusetts, Worcester, Massachu ...

throughout his tenure. He was the longest tenured head coach with the same organization in the AHL and has the most AHL wins as head coach. Sommer grew up in the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

area where he played youth hockey for Skyline High School before moving to

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

at age 17.

Coaching career

On November 1, 2009, while with the

, Sommer became just the fourth head coach in AHL history to reach 400 wins. On February 10, 2016, while with the

, Sommer became the winningest head coach in AHL history when he reached 637 wins. He surpassed

Bun Cook Frederick Joseph "Bun" Cook (September 18, 1903 – March 19, 1988) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and coach. He was an Allan Cup champion with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1924 before embarking on a 13-year professional ...

, who spent 19 seasons as a head coach in the AHL. He won the

Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award The Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award is an American Hockey League (AHL) trophy awarded annually to the most outstanding coach during the season, as voted upon by members of the AHL media. The award is named for Louis Pieri, a long-time contributor ...

as the AHL's coach of the year in 2017 after leading the Barracuda to the best regular season finish in the AHL's Pacific Division. On December 11, 2019, after the NHL

fired head coach

Peter DeBoer George Peter DeBoer (born June 13, 1968) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the head coach for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is also a co-owner of the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Ho ...

and his staff, Sommer left the San Jose Barracuda to serve as the Sharks associate coach under interim head coach

Bob Boughner Robert Douglas Boughner ( ; born March 8, 1971), nicknamed "The Boogieman", is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently an associate coach for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). As head c ...

. After working the final 37 games of the 2019–20 NHL season with the Sharks, Sommer returned to the Barracuda on September 22, 2020. Sommer won his 800th game as a head coach on January 8, 2022 against the

Henderson Silver Knights The Henderson Silver Knights are a professional ice hockey team based in Henderson, Nevada, that began play in the 2020–21 American Hockey League (AHL) season. The team plays its home games at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The tea ...

. On May 18, he transitioned to a senior advisory role within the team as assistant John McCarthy was named his successor. In 24 seasons with the Sharks organization, he recorded 808 wins against 721 losses, 48 ties, and 159 overtime defeats.

Personal life

Sommer and his wife, Melissa, have three children together: son Marley, who has

Down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

, son Castan, who coaches men’s ice hockey at

College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...

, and daughter Kira.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sommer, Roy 1957 births Living people American men's ice hockey left wingers Calgary Centennials players Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) players Edmonton Oilers players Grand Rapids Owls players Houston Apollos players Ice hockey people from California Ice hockey players from California Indianapolis Checkers players Maine Mariners players Muskegon Lumberjacks players Saginaw Gears players San Jose Sharks coaches Spokane Flyers (PHL) players Sportspeople from Oakland, California Spruce Grove Mets players Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks Wichita Wind players