The Rochester Americans have announced Seth Appert as their 33rd Head Coach in franchise history.

He succeeds Chris Taylor who was fired earlier this summer in a decision which shocked those who follow the American Hockey League closely.

The Rochester Americans are a storied AHL team who have not enjoyed the kind of success in previous decades.
From 2005-06 onward, the Amerks have failed to qualify the playoffs on seven occasions and were bundled out of the playoffs in the first round in the seven times they made the post-season.

As a part of the Buffalo Sabres organisation since 2011, Rochester has been slightly more successful in making the playoffs but a combination of lack of talent on the playing side, a revolving door policy with coaches and no proper direction from management has led to fifteen years of disappointment.

Following on from Ron Ralston, Chadd Cassidy and Dan Lambert, Chris Taylor had Rochester back on the right track.
They made the playoffs during his two full seasons in charge and on pace to do so in the 2019-20 campaign.

Under Taylor, Rochester compiled an overall record of 116-65-33, finishing third, second and sitting second in the North Division when the most recent campaign was cancelled.

Admittedly Rochester was swept in the two post-season appearances in Taylor’s tenure but he turned Rochester back into a winning team and was making the most of rosters giving to him that wasn’t comprised of young high-end talent or even the top-end veterans in the league.

There is no doubt that the task facing Seth Appert in his first professional gig is a daunting one.
The Rochester fan base is very demanding (rightly so) and the support from current management has never been consistent.

Rochester’s 33rd Head Coach was a goaltender who played some time in the NCAA for Ferris State University but by his own admission wasn’t every good so quickly went into coaching.

He spent nine seasons as an assistant coach with the University of Denver (NCAA) before moving onto a head coaching gig with Rensselaer Polytechnic Inst. Appert spent eleven seasons in that role with RPI and got involved coaching the USA U18 during that time.

The 46 year old’s next job was as Head Coach for the USA National Team Development Program which he joined in 2017 and held until accepting his first professional role.

“It’s an honour to become head coach of the Rochester Americans and be part of the Buffalo Sabres organization,” Appert said. “I know the passion of both fan bases and I look forward to helping develop players for the Sabres while building on the winning culture in Rochester. I would like to thank Terry and Kim Pegula, Kevyn Adams and Ralph Krueger for this incredible opportunity and their belief in me.”

“Seth has a proven track record of developing talent at various levels and we are looking forward to him being the next head coach of the Rochester Americans,” Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said. “His approach to coaching and leadership, both on and off the ice, is a natural fit with the philosophy Ralph Krueger and I have started to implement as we build the organization. Seth will be an asset to Rochester and to the Sabres organization, and I’m excited to see him succeed behind the bench with the Amerks.”

The Minnesota native has had a great deal of success developing players up until this point, especially in the US National Program, but he’ll need to translate into the professional game alongside winning hockey games.

The leash is notoriously short in Rochester, even if you win, as Chris Taylor did.