Anthony Glenn Curtale (born January 29, 1962) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player and was most recently the head coach of the

Wichita Falls Wildcats The Wichita Falls Wildcats were a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The Wildcats played out of the 7,380-seat Kay Yeager Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas. After failing to find a buyer, the Wil ...

in the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

. He was drafted by the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

in the second round, 31st overall in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. Curtale played only two games in his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

career, for the Flames in 1980–81 as a late-season call-up from his junior hockey club, the

Brantford Alexanders The Brantford Alexanders were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League from 1978 to 1984. The team was based in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. History The Hamilton Fincups were relocated in 1978 b ...

. He would spend the rest of his playing career in the minors, playing for the

Colorado Flames The Colorado Flames were a minor-pro hockey team that played in the Central Hockey League (CHL) in Denver, Colorado for two seasons from 1982 to 1984. They were the top minor league affiliate of the NHL's Calgary Flames. They played their home g ...

for two seasons, before joining the

Peoria Rivermen Peoria Rivermen is the name of four minor league hockey clubs: *Peoria Rivermen (IHL), named as such 1984–1996, formerly the Peoria Prancers 1982–1984 *Peoria Rivermen (ECHL), 1996–2005 *Peoria Rivermen (AHL), 2005–2013 *Peoria Rivermen (SP ...

until his retirement in 1987. After his playing career, Curtale later served as the head coach of the Springfield Jr. Blues in the

(NAHL) from 1995 to 1997 and then the

Windsor Spitfires The Windsor Spitfires are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1971, the franchise was promoted to the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League for the 1975� ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

(OHL) from

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. He returned to the NAHL with the

Texas Tornado The Texas Tornado were a Junior A hockey team located in Frisco, Texas, USA. The team joined the North American Hockey League's Central division in 1999 (and moved into the newly formed southern division three years later) while located in Nor ...

from 1999 until 2007 and led the team to a long string of success with four Robertson Cup Championships. He returned to the Tornado after coaching in the youth leagues in 2011 and led the team to a fifth league championship. When he left again in 2013, he was the winningest head coach in NAHL history. In 2016, he was hired by the NAHL's

as head coach, however, he was indefinitely suspended by the team that November. The Wildcats released him on December 1.

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1962 births American men's ice hockey defensemen Brantford Alexanders players Calgary Flames players Calgary Flames draft picks Colorado Flames players Ice hockey people from Detroit Living people Oklahoma City Stars players Peoria Prancers players Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players Windsor Spitfires coaches 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-icehockey-defenceman-stub