Peterborough Petes Re-Sign Four Coaching Staff Ahead of 2024-25 Season

Four Peterborough Petes coaches have been re-signed ahead of the 2024-25 season as announced by the team and Michael Oke, general manager and vice president of operations on Tuesday.

(From Left to Right) Nate Oke, Andrew Verner, Patrick O’Connor and Alex Darling. Photo courtesy of the Peterborough Petes.

Andrew Verner, associate coach; Patrick O’Connor, assistant coach and director of player personnel; Nate Oke, assistant coach and Alex Darling, video coach have re-signed multi-year deals.

“After extending Head Coach Rob Wilson in the spring, we’re excited to be able to keep our coaching staff together moving forward,” said Michael. “They have all worked well together for the past few years, developing a strong relationship between themselves and with the players.”

“I’m very pleased that we were able to come to an agreement to keep our coaching staff together,” said Rob Wilson, Petes head coach. “All of their work, commitment, and dedication to the team is amazing to watch on a day to day basis. We’re all working towards the same goal of developing our young players on and off the ice, and I believe that the staff we have in place is one of the best in the OHL.”

Verner, a Petes alumnus from 1989-92, originally joined the coaching staff as a goaltending coach during the 2012-13 season. He served as an assistant coach from 2014-18 and interim head coach in 2018 before being named associate coach in August of the same year.

O’Connor joined the Petes as an assistant coach prior to the 2019-20 season. He served in the role for three years before being promoted to the role of director of player personnel and assistant coach last October.

Nate joined the Petes as the team’s skill and development coach before the 2022-23 season while he was the head coach of the U16 Central Ontario Wolves. He was named an assistant coach in August last year.

Darling was originally an intern in the Petes business office, before taking on a sales role with the team. He was named video coach and assistant to the general manager for the 2022-23 season.

All four are OHL Champions from the 2022-23 season as coaches when the Petes raised their 10th J. Ross Robertson Cup. They all rejoin Head Coach Rob Wilson who signed an eight-year extension in March. 

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