Roy Sommer

Roy A. Sommer (born April 5, 1957) is an American former ice hockey coach and player, who currently serves as the player development coordinator for the men’s hockey program at the College of the Holy Cross.

Inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame in 2024, Sommer has won and coached in more games than anyone in AHL history, spending 24 of his 25 seasons as head coach of the AHL affiliates of the San Jose Sharks.

Sommer played three games for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League during the 1980–81 season, before spending the rest of his playing career, which lasted from 1977 to 1987, in the minor leagues.

Sommer grew up in the San Francisco area where he played youth hockey for Skyline High School before moving to Calgary at age 17. He was the first product of California hockey to reach the NHL.

Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1977, Sommer represented the United States at the 1976-77 IIHF World Junior Championship before playing 10 seasons professionally.

On January 28, 1981, Sommer made his NHL debut with the Edmonton Oilers and scored a goal in a 9-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens.

Sommer won two championships as a player – an American Hockey League Calder Cup with the Maine Mariners in 1984 and an International Hockey League Turner Cup with the Muskegon Lumberjacks in 1986.

Sommer served as an assistant for the San Jose Sharks during the 1997-98 NHL season before being named head coach of the AHL’s Kentucky Thoroughblades on May 28, 1998. That began a run of 24 years leading the Sharks’ AHL prospects with Kentucky (1998 to 2001), the Cleveland Barons (2001 to 2006), the Worcester Sharks (2006 to 2015) and the San Jose Barracuda (2015 to 2022). More than 150 of his players went on to play in the National Hockey League.