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Thursday, June 21, 2001
Henry is IceRays’ choice
New coach wraps up 17-year playing career to join team
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times

George Tuley/Caller-Times

36-year-old Dale Henry was announced as the IceRays new head coach following his 17-year playing career.

Taylor Hall spent his four seasons as a head coach trying to lure Dale Henry.
   He finally got him Wednesday, just not in a uniform.
   Henry was introduced as the Corpus Christi IceRays' head coach and director of hockey operations, ending his 17-year playing career that included stints with the New York Islanders for six seasons.
   After winning his third consecutive Western Professional Hockey League championship last season with the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs, Henry, 36, said it was time to leave the ice.
   "I've thought about becoming a coach for the last four years," said Henry, who played against Hall during their days in junior hockey. "Each year I'd think about it, but it just didn't feel like it was the right moment. After winning the title for the third time in Shreveport, I think this is perfect timing for me."
   Hall first contacted Henry about the job two weeks ago after talking with Mudbugs head coach Scott Muscutt.
   "Dale kind of came into the fold a little bit late," said Hall, now the IceRays' general manager. "I tried to recruit him before, to Albuquerque and Corpus Christi, but being in the same league, it's very difficult unless you trade for guys. Being a pillar of consistency in Shreveport, he wasn't going to let his team down."
   Hall received more than 35 applications for the job. He whittled the list down to seven probable candidates before deciding on Henry.
   Though Henry follows Hall, who resigned as the WPHL's winningest head coach last month, Hall is confident Henry will lead the IceRays to their ultimate goal - a league championship.
   "Unfortunately, with myself as coach, we weren't able to reach that point, but we want to win a championship," Hall said. "We wanted to make sure that we had somebody that had a winning tradition, somebody that knows how to win."
   The first player signed by the franchise, Henry spent four seasons with Bossier-Shreveport in a dual role as player and assistant coach.
   With Bossier-Shreveport, Henry scored 128 goals and had 152 assists in 265 games. He ended his stay with the Mudbugs as the franchise's all-time leader in goals, points (282), power-play goals (35) and game-winning goals (17).
   His final game with the Mudbugs left Henry 27 games shy of his 1,000th professional game.

George Tuley/Caller-Times

General manager Taylor Hall (right) welcomes the IceRay's new head coach Dale Henry with a team cap.

   "His leadership is second to none," Muscutt said. "I'm extremely happy for him. For Dale to get the coaching job speaks highly of the program and of him. He's a man of few words, and when he spoke, you listened. You don't try to replace a guy like that."
   IceRays forward Dustin McArthur expects Henry's reputation as a player to translate into success as a coach.
   "He's a guy that a lot of teams wanted to have as a player, and now we have him as a coach," McArthur said. "He played hard every night and was always a threat to score.
   "Obviously, with all his experience, he was a smart player," McArthur said. "He was on the ice at all the important times and could probably keep playing for another five years, but I'm glad he's here."
   Henry, a native of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, was the 157th overall pick in the 1983 NHL drafted, taken in the eighth round by the Islanders. He appeared in two playoff games with the Indianapolis Checkers of the old Central Hockey League in 1984 before signing with the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League. Henry spent seven seasons with Springfield from 1984-91, winning back-to-back titles his last two seasons.
   During his time with the Indians, Henry also played in 132 games with the Islanders, scoring 13 goals and recording 26 assists. He finished the 1988 season with 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in 48 games.
   Henry played one season each with the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Milwaukee Admirals of the International Hockey League, as well as one season in Rotterdam, Holland, before landing in San Antonio in 1994. He spent four seasons with the CHL's Iguanas, finishing with 67 goals and 95 assists.
   In 1997, Henry joined Bossier-Shreveport, scoring 80 points (34 goals, 46 assists). He finished the regular season last year with 61 points (30 goals, 31 points), and added eight goals and two assists to help lead the Mudbugs to their third straight WPHL title.


Contact Javier Becerra at 886-3734 or becerraj@caller.com

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