MAVERICKS HIRE TAD O’HAD AS HEAD COACH AND DIRECTOR OF HOCKEY OPERATIONS

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. – The Kansas City Mavericks announced Wednesday the hiring of Tad O’Had (TADD OH-hadd) as the club’s Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations. O’Had previously spent seven seasons with the Florida Everblades, the last four of which were as Associate Head Coach. O’Had is the fifth head coach in the history of the Mavericks organization.

The Mavericks will hold an introductory press conference via Zoom on Thursday, April 16 at 2:00 p.m. Central Time. The press conference will be posted on kcmavericks.com.

“We are excited and honored to announce Tad as our new Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations,” Mavericks President and General Manager Brent Thiessen said, “He comes from a first-class ECHL organization in the Florida Everblades. He distinguished himself as a top candidate early on in the process and we are thrilled to have him on board.

“He brings a depth of hockey knowledge and success to our organization, coming from a championship-caliber organization where the expectation is to go deep into the postseason and compete for championships every year,” Thiessen added.

The 40-year-old Yakima, Washington native comes to the Mavericks with an impressive and deep resume. While with the Everblades, O’Had was behind the bench in over 500 ECHL games and 67 playoff games. O’Had was part of the Everblades Brabham Cup (ECHL regular season championship) in 2017-18, an Eastern Conference championship in 2018, five South Division titles, six playoff appearances and a .699 winning percentage.

“I have been impressed for many years with the Kansas City Mavericks organization,” O’Had said, “Through the interview process I have been blown away by the fans support, community involvement and the true care factor of Lamar Hunt Jr. and Brent Theissen. It was evident to me from the very beginning that the Kansas City Mavericks are more than just a hockey club.”

O’Had said his team will be hard working and reflect the values of Kansas City.

“Fans can expect a fast-paced style of hockey with work ethic and grit. Our club will be fundamentally built around speed, character and jam,” O’Had explained, “Our team will be made up of players that will embody the work-ethic of the Kansas City community and our team will encompass fast, heavy and hard hockey… Being a Maverick is a proud tradition that we plan on continuing to greater heights.”

O’Had was also the Head Coach and General Manager of the Florida Jr. Blades, leading the Jr. Blades to a dominant 112-19-8 record and a USPHL National Championship in 2017 during his tenure.

O’Had grew up playing hockey and went on to play junior hockey in the North American Hockey League for the Capital Centre Pride and Ontario Provincial Hockey League for the Port Huron Clippers before attending Connecticut College, where he played four years, being selected as captain in three of four seasons. After college, he founded BlueStreak Sports Training, one of the most prestigious training facilities in North America. O’Had also co-founded Hybrid Hockey, a recruiting and exposure service that prepared players for collegiate hockey. Tad also worked in Russia in 2009, co-founding several Olympic training programs.

For six years, O’Had served as the Vice President of Hockey for Athletic Republic Headquarters. He is also a certified Master trainer for Athletic Republic, along with being a Sports Potential, Sport-Quest and SPARQ trainer. O’Had was awarded the Dick Vraa Award for his contribution to the Athletic Republic Network. He has achieved decades of awards and achievements in only a few years, and his hard work and dedication have led him to direct teams and hockey schools in Ontario, Alberta, Minnesota, Michigan, New York and Connecticut. In the past 10 years, 35 players he has trained have been selected in the NHL Entry Draft. In 2017,  Tad was named Gulfshore Business Magazine Top 40 Under 40, a prestigious distinction reserved for the most influential business leaders under the age of 40 in Southwest Florida.

In a 10-year span, O’Had trained 35 players who ended up being selected in the NHL Entry Draft.

The Mavericks will retain Kohl Schultz as Assistant Coach after Schultz finished the 2019-20 season as Interim Head Coach.

“I want to thank Kohl Schultz as well,” Thiessen continued, “He did a tremendous job stepping in when we needed him to. He is an invaluable asset and we are lucky to have him in our organization. He is a rising star in the coaching ranks in this league.”

Mavericks Head Coaching History2009-2014: Scott Hillman (186-116-26)2014-2016: Richard Matvichuk (80-50-8)2016-2020: John-Scott Dickson (123-117-25)2020: Kohl Schultz* (4-7-1-0)*Interim Head Coach

Season tickets for the 2020-21 season are on sale now through kcmavericks.com or by calling the Mavericks ticket staff at 816-252-7825. The Mavericks ticket office is fully operational and ready to serve our fans remotely during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders. Season tickets start at $12 per game.