The Buffalo Sabres announced this afternoon that they had appointed Bob Woods as an assistant coach on the team.
Woods comes over from the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, where he held the dual role of General Manager and Head Coach between the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons.
During his time as a left-handed defenseman, Woods primarily played in the AHL and ECHL for a period of 13 years – AHL: Utica Devils, Hershey Bears, Portland Pirates; IHL: Fort Wayne Komets; ECHL: Johnstown Chiefs, Hampton Roads Admirals, Mobile Mysticks, Tallahassee Tiger Sharks, Mississippi Sea Wolves; and in Austria for Wiener EV.
He won the Calder Cup with the Bears in 1997, and the Kelly Cup with the Sea Wolves
Previous to his time with the Blades, Woods was an assistant coach with the the Anaheim Ducks from 2012-14, and with the Washington Capitals from 2009-12 before that.
Hailing from LeRoy SK, he was in the Capitals organization as an assistant coach for the Bears in the AHL from the 2005-06 season to 2007-08 when he was promoted to Hershey’s head coach after just 15 games. He won the Calder Cup as a coach twice with the Bears (2006 & 2009), and was runner up in 2007.
As a player, Woods spent most of his 13-year career in the AHL and ECHL. He was a Calder Cup champion with Hershey in 1997 and won the ECHL’s Kelly Cup with the Mississippi Sea Wolves in 1999. The LeRoy, Saskatchewan native was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2012.