Hawks welcome former NHLer as new head coach

The Hawkesbury Hawks recently announced the appointment of Shawn Anderson, a former NHL first-round pick, as the team's new head coach.

The 42-year-old native of Hudson, Quebec replaces Bob Paquette, who served as head coach on an interim basis after Martin Dagenais stepped down from his coaching duties on October 12 to focus on his responsibilities as the Hawks general manager.

Paquette will return to his assistant coaching responsibilities alongside Ian Henderson, after having led the team to a 3-4-0 record over that period.

Anderson was the fifth-overall pick in the 1986 NHL entry draft and played eighteen years of professional hockey as a defenseman, including eight seasons in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres, the Quebec Nordiques, the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers.

Since retiring in 2004, Anderson has focused his efforts on developing young hockey talent in the Lac St-Louis region, coaching teams like the Midget AAA Lac St-Louis Lions and a juvenile high school team.

Anderson is also the founder of Hockey Specific Training, a company offering hockey specific training programs to elite level players along with full-scale development programs for minor hockey associations.