( WJET/WFXP )– The Erie Otters have named a new goaltending coach with years of professional and Olympic experience who was born and raised in Erie.
The Otters announced Tuesday morning they hired Ryan Zapolski as the new goaltending coach ahead of Friday’s home opener for the team and will work directly with the team’s goaltenders Noah Erliden and Charlie Burns.
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Zapolski will take over the goaltender coaching duties for outgoing goaltending consultant Adrian Volpe who will stay with the Otters as a goaltending scout and helped the team make the decision on finding a new coach.
“I’m extremely grateful to Dave Brown and Stan Butler for bringing me on board. When the opportunity came to join the Otters, a team I grew up watching, it was an easy decision,” said Zapolski. “Erie is a great hockey town and it’s a really unique chance to work with young, talented goalies right where I learned to play the game.”
Zapolski graduated from Cathedral Prep and Mercyhurst University earning Atlantic Hockey Association all-conference honors three times while playing for the Lakers and spent 10 seasons playing professional hockey ECHL and AHL in North America, and the Finnish Elite League, KHL, and EBEL in Europe as a goaltender.