Komets name Ben Boudreau assistant coach

Fort Wayne, IN-- The Komets announced Thursday that Ben Boudreau will serve as an assistant to head coach Gary Graham for the upcoming 2017-18 season.

Boudreau, 32, is the son of former Komet player and head coach Bruce Boudreau, who was a Fort Wayne fan favorite the first two years of the Franke family ownership in 1990-91 and 1991-92.

Boudreau will be stepping behind the Komet bench where his father, Bruce, was head coach for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons, guiding the Komets to the IHL finals in 1994. Bruce Boudreau is currently the head coach of the NHL's Minnesota Wild."We are excited to welcome Ben and his fiancé Karla to the Komet family," Komet general manager David Franke said. "Ben's knowledge, experience and technical expertise will be a big addition to the club. Coach Gary Graham will now have a full-time assistant coach to help daily with practices, game plans, video and player skill development."

Ben Boudreau skated a three-year pro career appearing in stints with the IHL's Flint Generals, the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays, the CHL's Wichita Thunder and the Louisiana IceGators of the SPHL. Boudreau finished his North American pro career in 2009-10 with Flint, appearing in 42 regular season games and all nine playoff games with the Generals including the IHL Finals against Fort Wayne. Boudreau concluded his playing career in France during 2012-13.

Boudreau has been an assistant coach in the ECHL the past three seasons. He made his debut as an assistant coach with the Bakersfield Condors in 2014-15 before logging the last two seasons as assistant coach of the Norfolk Admirals.

Opening night for the 66th season of Komet Hockey is slated for Saturday, Oct. 14 in Fort Wayne against the Toledo Walleye. Single game tickets for 2017-18 go on sale soon. Season Tickets are on sale now at the Komet office at 1010 Memorial Way in Fort Wayne. For more information visit Komets.com or call 260-483-0011.