Coaching Career
His first coaching assignment came as an assistant coach for the Greensboro Monarchs of the ECHL. His first head coaching position was with the San Antonio Iguanas of the CHL, where he took over when Bill Goldsworthy became ill. He coached the Iguanas to the finals twice in two years and won the Commissioner's Trophy for coach of the year in 1995. After spending the first half of the 1996–97 season as an Assistant Coach with the San Antonio Dragons of the IHL, Torchetti became head coach of the Fort Wayne Komets. In 1998 he won the Commissioners' Trophy.
Before the 1999–2000 NHL season Torchetti was hired as an assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning under Steve Ludzik. In 2002 Torchetti was hired as head coach of the San Antonio Rampage. Due to his many coaching stints in the city, "Torch" has kept close ties to San Antonio. After 65 games he was promoted to assistant coach with the parent club, the Florida Panthers. In 2004 he served 27 games as interim head coach, replacing Rick Dudley. He finished with a 10–12–4–1 record and before being replaced by, Jacques Martin. During the 2005–06 NHL season, Torchetti was hired by Dave Taylor as interim head coach of the Los Angeles Kings. With a chance to clinch a playoff spot, he had a 5–7 record in the teams final 12 games and was not retained by the Kings, instead being replaced by Marc Crawford.
In 2006 he was hired by the Moncton Wildcats to replace Ted Nolan as Head Coach & Director of Hockey Operations. He coached the team to a 39–25–0–4 record and a third placed finish in the QMJHL's Eastern Division. The Wildcats were eliminated in the first round by the Halifax Mooseheads.
Torchetti was hired as an associate coach for the Chicago Blackhawks on May 16, 2007.
On July 8, 2010 it was announced that Torchetti has been hired by the Atlanta Thrashers as the associate head coach under Craig Ramsay.
On July 5, 2011 he was announced as the new head coach of the Houston Aeros, replacing Mike Yeo.
Read more about this topic: John Torchetti
Famous quotes containing the word career:
“They want to play at being mothers. So let them. Expressing tenderness in their own way will not prevent girls from enjoying a successful career in the future; indeed, the ability to nurture is as valuable a skill in the workplace as the ability to lead.”
—Anne Roiphe (20th century)