The Brantford Bulldogs hired Ryan Kuwabara as their new Assistant Coach on Tuesday, August 20, 2024.
Matt Turek, General Manager of the Brantford Bulldogs, announced the hiring of the new coach and welcomed Kuwabara and his family to the organization.
“We are very excited to add Ryan, Melisa and their daughters Hannah, Sophie, Ayva and Tessa to the Bulldogs family,” said Turek. “Ryan and his family have shown incredible commitment to the communities they’ve been a part of and have deep roots in the Brant and Hamilton regions. Adding Ryan brings both a tremendous person and an excellent coach to the club, someone we are excited to see our players have the chance to work with and learn from.”
The 52-year-old Kuwabara arrives behind the Bulldogs bench with an extensive resume both on, and off the ice.
An OHL alumni, Kuwabara starred with the Ottawa 67’s scoring 240 points in 196 games while earning the Bobby Smith award as OHL Scholastic Player of the Year in 1990. He was also selected by the Montréal Canadiens in the second round, 39th overall, in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.
His playing career took him around the globe, spending several seasons playing in Japan, Ireland and Korea.
On the international stage, Kuwabara represented Japan at the highest level, skating in the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Additionally, he represented Japan at five World Hockey Championships including captaining the nation at the 2001 tournament in Germany.
Turning his attention towards coaching, Kuwabara spent six seasons as the Head Coach and General Manager of the Stoney Creek Warriors, now known as the Ancaster Avalanche, in the Greater Ontario Hockey League (GOHL). He then went on to coach with the OHL’s Flint Firebirds and Saginaw Spirit before rejoining the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers as an Assistant Coach.
Most recently, Kuwabara served as Head Coach with the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs.
Jay McKee, Head Coach for the Brantford Bulldogs said he’s looking forward to having Kuwabara join the team behind the bench.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to add Ryan to our staff,” said McKee. “He brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and respect that will help to enhance our standards of culture and work ethic. I look very forward to getting started.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
