Mullins named Jackals head coach

ELMIRA, NY – Evan as questions continue to swirl about the fate of the team, the Elmira Jackals gave fans something to be happy about on Monday.
The Jackals named Dwight Mullins as  the team’s new head coach this morning and introduced him to the fans and media this afternoon. He is the tenth man to lead the club in its history and fifth since it moved to the ECHL in 2007. Mullins replaces Pat Bingham who resigned as head coach earlier this month amid uncertainty about the Jackals’ future.

“I’m excited to have the privilege to come to Elmira and lead the Jackals. I am equally excited to be a part of an organization, and a league, that offers players development and advancement opportunities both personally and professionally,” Mullins said. “Our team will display the hard-working character that Pat Bingham has established here. With the core group of players we have assembled, our sights are set on a championship.”
Mullins arrives in Elmira with a .700 winning percentage in three years as a professional head coach. From 2009 to 2012, he was the head coach and general manager of the Central Hockey League’s Allen Americans, and built a record of 128-51-17. He took the expansion Americans to the CHL’s President’s Cup finals in 2010 and followed that up with a conference-leading 47 wins and a trip to the Berry Conference finals in 2011. Last year Mullins directed Allen to 39 wins, a second-place conference finish, and a playoff berth.
In recognition of his success, Mullins was charged with leading the CHL All-Star team in 2011 and 2012. He also finished as runner up for CHL Coach of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011.
Before coaching in Allen, Mullins worked as the head coach of the North American Hockey League’s Texas Tornado, coached at the Dallas Stars’ NHL player development camp, and gained experience as an assistant coach with the Western Professional Hockey League’s Fort Worth Brahmas and Western Hockey League’s Medicine Hat Tigers.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Mullins played major junior hockey in the WHL for six seasons. After a 21-goal campaign for Lethbridge in 1984-85 he was selected 90th overall by the Minnesota North Stars in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. His professional playing career spanned three seasons from 1994 to 1997 with the Fort Worth Fire of the CHL. As a player, Mullins went out on top by serving as the captain for the ’97 Fire team that won the CHL title.
“I couldn’t be more excited to have Dwight coaching the Jackals. His experience, passion, dedication, energy, and determination to win really put him at the front of the pack when it came to our search,” Jackals general manager Matt Hufnagel said. “Dwight is the kind of coach that is organized, focused on doing the little things right, and is committed to building good relationships with our fans and our community. But most of all he is going to coach a team that will play the right way and compete every night which is what this community respects and enjoys.”
The Jackals are scheduled to begin training camp later this week ahead of their annual Blue and White intra-squad scrimmage on Thursday, October 4th at the First Arena and a preseason game in Reading on October 8th. Elmira will begin the regular season at home against Reading on Friday, October 12th.
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