The Wellington Dukes are turning to their past to lead them in their future.
Jacob Panetta has been named coach and general manager of the Ontario Junior Hockey League Club succeeding Kent Lewis who is returning to British Columbia.
Panetta is a Quinte Red Devils graduate.
He played for the Dukes from 2013 to 2016 before spending four years with Colgate University.
He then played professionally in the ECHL and Europe.
In a press release Panetta says, “I want to take Wellington and turn it into an elite development team where kids don’t come for one or two years, but they’re here to develop over a two-, three-year span, whether that’s for OHL (USports), or NCAA and take the lead with it that way.” Returning to his roots and embracing the local hockey community again is something that Panetta said he is cherishing. “The County has given me my start to junior hockey and allowed me to earn a scholarship, and I’m really thankful for that,” he said.
“I want to use coaching as an avenue to give back to community and to give back to players and sort of help them navigate their way through the start of their careers and the start of their lives.”
Jacob Panetta takes over the Dukes following a season where they finished fifth in the OJHL’s Eastern Conference with 70 points.
