Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 21, 1990 TAG: 9007210208
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"My wife, two kids and I were beginning to think we'd never get here," Noel said.
Now that he is here, he hopes to stay awhile. Roanoke Valley Rebels owner Henry Brabham made certain of that Friday night, when he hired Noel as new coach of the East Coast Hockey League team.
"I've wanted to be a head coach for a long time, therefore I'm grateful to get this opportunity," said Noel, who spent 10 years as a player in the American and International leagues, the final three as a playing assistant at Kalamazoo (Mich.) and Toledo (Ohio).
"I'm very excited about this," Noel said. "I'm very impressed with what I've seen of the area. And the facility [Vinton LancerLot] is great. It's everything a player could want.
"So I'm very confident we can find some hockey players and turn them into winners."
Noel, 34, becomes the third coach in as many seasons for the local ECHL entry. Dave Allison, last season's coach, took a similar post at Albany (N.Y.) of the IHL after the Virginia Lancers were declared defunct by the league earlier this month.
Brabham - who hired Allison and John Tortorella, the current Buffalo Sabres assistant who led Virginia to consecutive titles in the Atlantic Coast (1986-87) and All-American ('87-88) leagues - is counting on Noel to be another winner.
"I haven't made many mistakes in hiring coaches," said Brabham, who hired Allison before New Yorker Richard Geery bought the Lancers franchise last summer. "I made one [in 1988-89], but I think Kevin Willison would have done a good job if he'd been in the right situation. You have to take a chance; that's all it is.
"But I like my chances with Claude. He's starting from scratch and he's got a lot of ambition. He's full of fire and vinegar, and boy, that's what it takes."
Noel, a native of Kirkland Lake, Ontario, began his pro career in 1976 at Hershey (Pa.) of the AHL. He played five years at center for the Bears, including a seven-game stint with the NHL's Washington Capitals in 1979-80.
After serving two seasons as a player-coach in Austria, Noel played for five years in the IHL at Kalamazoo and Toledo. He hung up his skates in 1988 and spent last year as an assistant coach in the Ontario junior league.
"For the last five, six years, I've tried to give myself some direction from a coach's point of view," Noel said. "I knew I wanted to coach one day."
Noel said he realizes there is a lot of work to be done in a hurry.
"I think some of the others [coaches] might be a little ahead right now. We're a little behind, but that's not to say we'll be behind in the standings," Noel said.
"I'll be hitting the phones eight hours a day. I guess now I'll find out just how many friends I really have. Hopefully, my contacts will send me some players now."
by CNB