Todd Watson, head coach, and general manager of The Odessa Jackalopes, stepped down from his duties yesterday but will remain with the organization in a scouting capacity.
Watson was the second NAHL South Division head coach to step down or be removed yesterday as the Corpus Christi Ice Rays severed ties with Al Rooney prior to Watson stepping down.
Adam Phillips has been named interim head coach of the Jackalopes while Tim Christian has been named interim general manager.
Watson was named head coach last May and the Jackalopes are currently in sixth place in the seven-team South Division with 16 points, one ahead of last-place New Mexico and 41 behind first-place Lone Star. He was head coach and general manager of the Saginaw Spirit in the Ontario Hockey League from 2007-11.
Jeff Nygaard is the editor of The Junior Hockey Podcast. He covers Junior and college-bound hockey as a traditional “beat,” in addition to breaking news stories during the course of the year.
He has a vast amount of experience on the business and organizational side of the sport as a former owner-operator of two Junior organizations two youth clubs and has served as executive director or commissioner of the Eastern Hockey League and the United States Premier Hockey League.
A Fergus Falls, Minn., native, Nygaard grew up playing for the Fergus Falls Youth Hockey Association, Fergus Falls High School, Fergus Falls Community College, and North Dakota State University programs. He can be reached at info@juniorhockeyhub.com for questions, story ideas, and anonymous tips.
