The Niagara IceDogs have hired a new Assistant Coach, and he’s a familiar face in the region.
Daniel Paille, a Welland native, was announced by IceDogs Governor Darren DeDobbelaer on Tuesday afternoon as the latest addition to Ben Boudreau’s coaching staff.
Paille spent four seasons with the Guelph Storm (2000-2004), tallying a total of 247 points across 239 regular season games played.
Ultimately, he was selected in the first round, 20th overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
During his NHL career, he would go on to play 582 NHL games between the Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers. This impressive NHL career included winning a Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011.
His playing career would wrap-up in 2018 as he shifted his focus to coaching, taking a position with Canisius College in the NCAA as a Volunteer Assistant Coach (2019-2021). He would then gain a promotion to Assistant Coach, spending three seasons in that role (2021-2024). During his three seasons as Assistant Coach, Canisius would qualify for the playoffs in all three years, while winning the Atlantic Hockey America Conference tournament in 2023.
(Written by: Matt Latour)