San Diego Gulls Name Jason Clarke And Kris Sparre Assistant Coaches
Aug 4, 2022The San Diego Gulls announced today that the American Hockey League (AHL) club has named Jason Clarke and Kris Sparre as assistant coaches. Clarke and Sparre join head coach Roy Sommer on San Diego’s coaching staff.
Clarke split the 2021-22 season between the Shawinigan Cataractes and Acadie-Bathurst Titan of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), serving as head coach for the Titan for the majority of the season. Clarke guided Acadie-Bathurst to a 40-22-3-3 record, finishing fourth in the Eastern Conference and third in the Maritimes Division.
A native of Carleton Place, Ontario, Clarke was the head coach and general manager of the Carleton Place Canadians of the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) from 2009-21 and led the club to two CCHL championships (2015, 2017). He was named CCHL Coach of the Year three times (2014, 2015, 2020), CCHL General Manager of Year three times (2017, 2018, 2020) and to the CCHL First All-Star Team in 2020. Clarke began his coaching career as head coach for the Ottawa Jr. Senators for three seasons (2002-05).
Sparre completed his first season as associate coach for the Flint Firebirds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2021-22, helping the club to a franchise best 42-21-1-4 record and their first Western Conference Finals appearance.
Prior to joining Flint, Sparre was an assistant coach for Salzburg of the Champions Hockey League (ICEHL) from 2019-21, assisting the club to a 43-23-11 record and a berth in the ICEHL semifinals in 2021. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach for the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs from 2016-19.
A native of Mississauga, Ontario, Sparre played nine professional seasons from 2008-16. He earned 32-43=75 points and 187 penalty minutes (PIM) in 257 DEL games with Iserlohn, Ingolstadt, Berlin and Dusseldorfer. Sparre also appeared in 65 ECHL games with the Idaho Steelheads and Columbia Inferno, collecting 17-22=39 points with a +6 rating and 105 PIM.