Stirling Wright
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section has multiple issues. Please help improve the article or discuss these issues on the talk page.
|
Stirling Wright-b.October 17, 1969, Leesburg, Virginia, Loudoun County, USA
Stirling Wright attended Linton Hall Military Academy in Bristow, Virginia. He then attended Stonewall Jackson High School and Osbourn City High School, graduating in 1987.
Mr. Wright became the Liaison Officer for the City of Manassas Police Department before getting the opportunity to attend the University of Wisconsin-Superior on a partial scholarship for ice hockey. He suffered a broken ankle during training camp and this resulted in his leaving college. He returned home and signed a tryout contract with the Virginia Lancers of the East Coast Hockey League. Due to family issues he did not attend camp and entered the US Navy.
Stirling Wright joined the United States Navy and worked as a CTT-Wizzard Operations for Naval Special Warfare Communications. Much of his time and travels in the military is not known. Mr. Wright was honorably discharged in 1992 after serving in Gulf/Desert Storm and Desert Shield.
He opened an Ice Hockey/Skating store in Potomac, Maryland called Centre Ice Sports. This business thrived but the long hours and his desire to return to ice hockey resulted in his closing the store and returning to his first passion.
Stirling Wright worked with the Baltimore Skipjacks and the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League (AHL) and as a training camp assistant with the Washington Capitals of the National hockey League (NHL). While working with these teams he would often skate and at times practice with the team. The following season saw Stirling Wright attend numerous tryouts including the IHL and the Sunshine Hockey League. He was offered a position with one of the Florida based teams but decided to accept a player/coach position in Europe.
Stirling Wright became a player/coach of the Aviemore Blues in the United Kingdom. He was known as a tough player and a tough coach. His tough play and penchant for sticking up for his players resulted in a fractured skull while playing a game. An opposing player refused to drop the gloves and fight Wright but instead cross-checked him in the head breaking his helmet and fracturing Wright's skull. Wright finished out the season after some time in the hospital. He only played one more professional game.
He returned to the United States after his coaching and playing success in Europe and took a position as the Director of Officiating for the Southern Hockey League. The next season he accepted the position as General Manger of the Winston-Salem Mammoths in the SHL but the league folded during the summer. He later became the Head Coach of the Swindon Chill and the Paisley Pirates in the UK and Club Gel Puigcerda in Spain before returning home to the United States. He then took a position as the Head Coach of the Arctic Ice Junior B Hockey team and as an assistant coach with the Anchorage Aces of the West Coast Hockey League, WCHL. In November of 2000 he was promoted to Director of Player Personnel/Assistant Coach with the Aces. Due to suspensions and other issues he would again find himself running practices and performing coaching duties for some WCHL games.
The following season the owner of the club promoted Stirling Wright to Vice President and General Manager. Wright hired Lou Corletto and Butch Goring, both NHL experienced legends to assist with bringing the club out of its financial and on ice performance problems. The owner of the club fired Mr. Corletto and Mr. Goring without notifying General Manager Wright citing that he had heard they had called the league to request help in getting paid the three months they were behind. Mr. Wright informed the owner that he would attend the next game and that it would also be his last due to the manner in which the owner handled the firings and that he among many of the players and staff were also owed money. It was later found that many of the players and creditors had also called the league. The league had offered to assist but someone from the league office called the owner the night prior to the firings and let him know that they had called the league for assistance.
Mr. Wright, a Master Level coach with USA Hockey moved his family back to Virginia and returned to a role in law enforcement. He is currently the Chief Examiner for Atlantic Polygraph Associates and specializes in Sex Offender testing and interview/interrogation. He is a nationally certified K9 handler with ASCTK9. He was also an instructor with the Virginia School of Polygraph and remains active with youth hockey in the Washington, D.C. and Virginia area. During the summer months he can be found in numerous ice rinks along the east coast coaching hockey camps.
