Condors flesh out coaching staff

The Bakersfield Condors will have a new look behind their bench next season. Jay Woodcroft, as announced a couple weeks ago, will move from the Oilers bench to the head coaching position of the Condors. Joining him as assistants will be Dave Manson and J-F Houle.

Houle will enter his fourth season as a Condors assistant coach. He was the head coach of the team in its final season in the ECHL and then worked under Gerry Fleming the previous three years. Houle was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 but never played a game in the NHL.

The new addition to the organization will be Dave Manson, a former NHL defenceman who played 1103 NHL games including parts of three seasons with the Oilers in the early 90s. Manson finally makes the jump to professional coaching after serving the Price Albert Raiders as an assistant coach from 2003 to 2008 and as an associate coach from 2012 to 2018.

The Condors have missed the playoffs in all three seasons since becoming Edmonton’s AHL affiliate. Fleming, who had been with the organization since 2008-09 as an assistant coach with the Springfield Falcons, will be coaching professional hockey in Germany next season.