The Huron-Perth Lakers are pleased to announce that Chad Smalley, who had been the Lakers Major Midget coach for the past 4 seasons, is now moving over to be Head Coach of this season's Minor Midget team. One of Chad's first actions as Minor Midget Head Coach was to appoint Jeff Zehr as an Assistant Coach on his staff.
A resident of Stratford, Chad is an Intermediate Level Coach with 17 years coaching experience – including 8 League Championships & 2 OHF Silver Medals. He has had 25 of his players graduate to the OHL, 16 players secure University hockey scholarships, and 4 players reach the NHL. His past experience also includes being Assistant G.M. with both the St. Marys Lincolns Jr. B team and the Aylmer Aces as well as a stint as the General Manager for the Aylmer Aces.
Jeff Zehr
Joining Chad behind the bench for the Minor Midgets will be Jeff Zehr. Jeff played his minor hockey in Tavistock and was with the Jr. B Sutherland Cup Champion Stratford Cullitons in 1994-95. He was drafted in the 1st round, 13th overall by the 1995 OHL Windsor Spitfires and then drafted in the 2nd round, 31st overall in 1997 by the New York Islanders. His OHL experience included playing for the Windsor Spitfires (Most Improved Player Award), Erie Otters (Most Determined Player Award), and the Sarnia Sting. Played in the Bobby Orr - Don Cherry Top Prospects Game scoring 2 Goals in a 7-2 win. Signed and played with the Boston Bruins in 1999-2000, and spent seasons in the AHL, ECHL (Fan Favorite), UHL (All Star Team, Most Improved Player), and IHL (Unsung Hero Award, Humanitarian Award). In the last couple years, he served as a Player/Asst Coach with several teams.
He has coached 2 years of Minor Hockey in Stratford, winning a Novice Championship in 2004-2005 (a 47-9-4 record) and followed this up the next season with a loss in the Finals. He has been selected to instruct several Hockey Canada Skills Camps, several Hockey Schools, and has taught several private lessons to the likes of Zack Kassian (1st round OHL, 1st round NHL Buffalo) and Matt Puempel (1st round OHL, NHL Eligible 2011).
Contact information for both Chad and Jeff is available on the 2011-12 Minor Midget team coaching staff page (
click here).