Joe Selenski (born 1955) is a former minor league

hockey ''Hockey'' is a family of List of stick sports, stick sports where two opposing teams use hockey sticks to propel a ball or disk into a goal. There are many types of hockey, and the individual sports vary in rules, numbers of players, apparel, ...

coach and general manager.

Atlantic Coast Hockey League

Selenski got his start as a coach and general manager with the

Troy Slapshots The Troy Slapshots were a professional ice hockey team based in Troy, New York. They were a member of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League in the 1985–86 season. History The Slapshots were based out of Staten Island during their inaugural season. B ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Hockey League The Atlantic Coast Hockey League (ACHL) was a minor league hockey organization that operated between 1981 and 1987. The league was founded by Bill Coffey. The Bob Payne Trophy was awarded to the team who won the league playoff championship. Acco ...

. The Slapshots would see limited action in the ACHL, playing only six games before being suspended by ACHL Commissioner

Ray Miron Joseph Rodolph "Ray" Miron (March 20, 1923 – August 28, 2015) was an owner of the new Central Hockey League (CHL), as well as a National Hockey League (NHL) executive, serving in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and as general manager of th ...

. Shortly after the leaguewide dispersal draft, the

Mohawk Valley Comets The Mohawk Valley Comets are a former professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They were a member of the North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the Uni ...

would fire their coach (Bill Horton) and replace him with Selenski, who assumed the dual role of coach and general manager. The Comets would go 22-22-3 under Selenski and make the playoffs. However, the Comets would eventually lose to the

Virginia Lancers The Virginia Lancers were a minor league hockey team that played in several leagues from 1983 until 1990. Their home ice was the Vinton Sports Complex, which held 3400 people. Atlantic Coast Hockey League (1983–1987) The Virginia Lancers w ...

four games to three in the Payne Trophy Finals. After the completion of the 1986-87 ACHL season, the Comets transferred to the AHL and were later rebranded as the

Utica Devils The Utica Devils were a professional ice hockey team of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team was based in Utica, New York, and played its home games at the Utica Memorial Auditorium. History The Utica Devils were AHL affiliate of the Natio ...

, and the ACHL was folded by Commissioner Ray Miron.

All-American Hockey League

Without a team to coach at the start of the 1987-88 season, Selenski headed to Johnstown to negotiate the foundation of a hockey team in the newly formed

All-American Hockey League The All-American Hockey League (AAHL) was a minor professional hockey league formed in 1986 after the Continental Hockey League (CnHL) ceased operations. The league was created by the CnHL teams Danville, Dayton, and Troy adding the Downriver ...

. On December 27, 1987, Selenski - along with future team owner Henry Brabham - walked into Dennis Grenell's office at the

Cambria County War Memorial Arena The Cambria County War Memorial Arena is a 4,001-seat multi-purpose arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States. It is managed by SMG Entertainment. It was built in 1950, for the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern Hockey League. The arena was bui ...

and inquired about potentially putting a new franchise in Johnstown. Selenski expected to be able to field team by the start of the following season, but Grenell said he wanted a team "right now". Within two weeks, Selenski was able to find uniforms from a Canadian vendor and field a team based on old players who he had coached while in the ACHL. The Chiefs went 13-13-0 in the regular season and qualified for the playoffs, but would eventually lose to the

Carolina Thunderbirds The Carolina Thunderbirds were a professional ice hockey team located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. The Thunderbirds played their home games at the old Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum before the arena was demolished in 1989. ...

. Selenski was not re-signed after the post-season.

ECHL

Selenski was brought in as a midseason replacement for Carolina Thunderbirds' head coach Brian Carroll. Despite finishing with a sub-.500 record, Selenski would lead the Thunderbirds to the playoffs and would eventually defeat the Johnstown Chiefs in a seven-game

Riley Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

Final. While in Carolina, Selenski coached several players who would reach the NHL in various capacities. Forward

Bill Huard William John Huard (born June 24, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League between 1992 and 1999 with six teams. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1988 to 2000, was spent in diffe ...

would later go on to play over 200 games in the NHL with five different teams. Scott Allen would later coach in the ECHL and AHL for 13 years before assuming the position of Assistant Coach for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

at the start of the

2010-11 NHL season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. Goaltender Toby O'Brien would later become a scout supervisor for the New York Islanders' affiliates in Bridgeport and Utah. Allen and O'Brien would also go on to coach the Johnstown Chiefs, a team that Selenski coached during the team's inaugural 1987-88 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Selenski, Joe Johnstown Chiefs coaches 1955 births American ice hockey coaches ECHL coaches Living people