The Dubuque Fighting Saints announced former Kenai River Brown Bears head coach Oliver David as the team’s new head coach Wednesday.
The Fighting Saints of Dubuque, Iowa, play in the United States Hockey League, the top junior hockey league in the country, and David makes a return to the team after a one-year stint as an assistant coach for the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League. David spent three years as an assistant for the Fighting Saints.
The 38-year-old led the Brown Bears to a 99-117-22 record and a playoff contender during his tenure with the team. In David’s final year with the team, the Bears nearly beat instate rivals Fairbanks in a best-of-five postseason series, falling after being up 2 games to 1.
The Fighting Saints also announced Kalle Larsson’s promotion to general manager of the organization. Larsson has served as director of player personnel in Dubuque. Larsson and David hold a working relationship dating back to the Kenai River days, when Larsson helped attract Swedish talent to the team while working for Scandinavian Hockey Consulting.
