Thunder Bay Chill Look to Return to Winning Ways
THUNDER BAY – SPORTS – The Thunder Bay Chill announced today that it has hired Giovanni Petraglia as the Head Coach of its PDL team. Petraglia was hired after long time Coach Tony Colistro announced his resignation as bench boss.
“We are very happy to sign Giovanni and feel very confident that he is a great fit in leading our PDL team through our next phase of success,” stated Chill GM John Marrello.
“I am thankful for the opportunity and I look forward to the challenge. Being the 2nd coach to ever coach the Chill will be a huge responsibility,” commented Petraglia. Giovanni has worked with former Head Coach Colistro as his assistant. Petraglia feels that his philosophies and player standards are similar in what they look for in players.
Under Petraglia’s direction the Chill saw players such Ayden Meilleur who made the transition from the Reserves to the PDL. In 2015, four players who played for Petraglia will also be looking to make the 2015 squad.
“Gio came into the club and immediately bought into the philosophy, culture, and strategic plan. The decision for me to step down was well in the works which is one of the reason we brought Gio in a few years ago. He brings knowledge and the personality needed to deal with the types of PDL players that we bring into the first team,” states Director of Operations Tony Colistro.
Giovanni will work alongside Colistro immediately as they begin the recruiting process for the 2015 season. The Chill will look to get back to the play-offs after missing it last season. Prior to that the Chill had a run of 7 successful straight years of making the play-offs and playing in 3 National Championship winning the title in 2008.
