Last Tuesday, the Union College men’s hockey team announced that John Ronan had been named assistant coach. Ronan replaces former assistant coach Joe Dumais who left the Dutchmen to be an associate head coach with the Quinnipiac University Bobcats.
This will be Ronan’s second stint behind the Dutchmen bench. Ronan was an assistant volunteer coach during the Dutchmen’s magical 2013-14 season. Ronan brings a wealth of experience to the Dutchmen bench, both as a player and a coach.
ICYMI, John Ronan returns to #UnionHockey as assistant coach. https://t.co/KCqCTRSx5X #ECACHockey pic.twitter.com/QgW08jO3X8
— Ken Schott #ThePartingSchottsPodcast (@slapschotts) August 24, 2016
Ronan has been a member of three national championship teams, two as a player (2002, 2004) and one as an assistant coach (2014). Ronan is an alumnus of the University of Maine and played four seasons (2001-05). In 132 games with the Black Bears, Ronan scored 25 goals and 47 points, he was also a plus-three.
Over the past two season, Ronan has been an assistant coach with Youngstown Phantoms (2014-15) and the Mercyhurst University Lakers (2015-16).
After leaving Maine, Ronan played eight seasons of professional hockey in East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), Central Hockey League (CHL), Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), International Hockey League (IHL), and in the Netherlands. Ronan played in 414 games with eight different teams scoring 139 goals and 291 points.
“I’m happy to announce John Ronan as our new assistant hockey coach,” head coach Rick Bennett stated in an official press release. “It’s a win-win to have John come back to a program with which he is very familiar. During his time as a volunteer assistant, he helped improve many areas of our team. “John had a tremendous career at Maine and he has gained valuable experience the past two seasons at Youngstown and Mercyhurst. Our coaching staff is excited to welcome John, his wife Robin and their daughter Cameron to the Union Hockey family.”
Ronan is excited to rejoin the Dutchmen.
“The bond that we had with the players, and obviously the bond with Rick, Joe and [assistant coach] Jason [Tapp], they provided the foundation for my coaching career,” Ronan told the Ken Schott of the Daily Gazette. “They gave me my start, and I learned so much from those guys.”