The Cobourg Cougars of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) are pleased to announce that the program has hired Wes Wolfe as its Head Coach and Assistant General Manager. 

Wes joins the Cougars having spent the past 4 seasons as an Assistant Coach with the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). “I am beyond excited to be joining the Cobourg Cougars organization and look forward to cementing Cobourg as one of the premier programs in all of Junior A hockey”, said Wolfe. “After meeting with the senior management team, I was very confident there is a vision and infrastructure in place to make this happen. We will continue to emphasize the development of our players as people-first, with an eye on combining long-term individual growth and sustainable team success. I am very grateful for the opportunity and can’t wait to begin.”

Wes’ first year in Erie, during the 2016-17 season, saw the Otters set a Canadian Hockey League record posting their 4th straight 50-win season, en route to winning the Hamilton Spector Trophy (OHL Regular Season Champions), Wayne Gretzky Trophy (OHL Western Conference Champions), J. Ross Robertson Cup (OHL Champions) and a Memorial Cup finals appearance. 

“We’re very excited to add Wes Wolfe to our hockey operations team as Assistant General Manager and Head Coach,” said General Manager Alex Guiney. “Wes’ player-centric approach to both on-ice and personal development matched our organization’s values and made this a great fit. Wes has a tremendous track record of developing players and aiding them in being the best versions of themselves. We look forward to him contributing to the Cougars success and aiding us in the pursuit of a national championship.”

Prior to joining the Otters, Wes was the Head Coach and General Manager with the St. Catharines Falcons of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League (GOJHL), and in both of his two seasons with the Falcons reached the Golden Horseshoe Conference finals. 

Wes has also been involved with the OHL/OHF Program of Excellence, coaching at the program 4 times (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019) as well as having coached at the OHL Draft Combine (2018, 2019) and was a Guest Speaker at the OHL Coaches Conference in 2019 and 2020. 

Recently, Wes founded his own coaching conference, the Niagara Hockey Coaches Seminar for grassroots level coaching development, which saw over 1,000 virtual attendees for the 2020 virtual series.

“Wes is a tremendous addition to our organization and brings a dynamic energy to our team and staff,” said Marc Mercier, Governor of the Cougars. “What Wes has been able to accomplish in Erie, in terms of wins, but also in the development of players, has our organization excited over what he will be able to accomplish in Cobourg. Wes has coached in big games, won championships, and will bring that experience and expectation with him to the Cougars as we pursue our goal of winning another national championship.”