Aarif Deen
The Colorado Avalanche’s new ECHL affiliate, the New Mexico Goatheads, have their first head coach. The organization announced the hiring of Zack Stortini on Saturday.
Stortini, 40, was an assistant coach for the AHL’s Tucson Roadrunners in each of the last four seasons. They have a 141-116-26 record with him on staff. The Roadrunners are affiliated with the Utah Mammoth and previously the Arizona Coyotes.
In his playing days, Stortini spent the majority of his career playing the wing for the Edmonton Oilers. He was drafted No. 94 overall in 2003 and made his debut just three years later. Stortini played 256 of his 257 games with the Oilers, before getting one look with the Nashville Predators during the 2011-12 season.
That was his final game in the NHL, but he went on to have a long career in the AHL. He last played for the Charlotte Checkers in 2018-19.
The Goatheads are owned and operated by REV Entertainment and will be based in Rio Rancho, playing home games at the Rio Rancho Events Center. The organization named Jared Johnson as General Manager of the Goatheads, bringing experience in professional business and hockey operations. Johnson joins the organization from the Huntsville Havoc of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), where he has served as Vice President since 2021. In that role, he oversaw business operations and ticketing for Huntsville and led the franchise to four straight single-season league attendance records.