Dunbar rejoining Chiefs as general manager
After parting ways with the Port Hope Panthers, the Ennismore resident will also be reuniting with Chiefs head coach Arcand behind the bench
Shawn Dunbar is coming home.
Dunbar, 45, is returning to the Lakefield Hendren Funeral Home Chiefs to take over as general manager.
Chiefs president Don Dunford announced the hiring Wednesday afternoon.
Dunbar will also rejoin head coach Jamie Arcand on the bench as associate coach alongside assistant coaches Jason Hinze and Mark MacDonnell.
Dunbar replaces Tyler Revoy, who left Lakefield to become GM of the Campbellford Rebels.
Dunbar was with the Chiefs as an assistant coach from 2015 to ’18, helping guide them to the ’18 Schmalz Cup PJHL championship. He left the Chiefs to assume the head coach and GM role with the PJHL Tod Division’s Port Hope Panthers while also serving as assistant GM for the OJHL’s Cobourg Cougars.
Cobourg did some restructuring and Dunbar wasn’t going to continue in that role.
He was offered a contract to return to Port Hope but Dunbar, who lives in Ennismore, said family was his main reason for deciding to return to Lakefield. His parents are dealing with health issues and he is their primary caregiver.
“I need to be closer to home,” Dunbar said.
“In the Tod Division, every away game other than Campbellford was an hour-and-a-half not including my drive time to Port Hope, which was 45 minutes to an hour depending on weather.”
He’s also excited to rejoin Arcand for a 10th season coaching together between junior C and AAA hockey.
“I have that connection to Jamie and Hinzey. Reuniting our 2018 staff is going to be good,” he said.
“I had an opportunity to come back in a role I wanted to be in. I feel I gained valuable experience in Port Hope and Cobourg. Now that I have that GM experience and the connections in the league, it makes sense to come back as GM.”
Dunford said he’s excited to have Dunbar back.
“When Shawn was with us before, he did an excellent job,” Dunford said. “He’s like a dog after a bone. He does things properly. He has a good rapport with both the OHA and PJHL and is well-known there. The stint he had with Cobourg and Port Hope is going to help us with the experience he’s gained. He’s familiar with all the bylaws and he’s a good recruiter. He’s a go-getter.”
Dunford said he and Dunbar work well together.
“We have a great staff. I’m not sure how you could better it,” Dunford said. “Whatever Jamie’s weaknesses are they’re Shawn’s strengths and vice-versa. They talk about that.
“He’s good at matching lines and knows the game really well. He’s always upgrading himself as far as courses go and is really good at breaking the game down on video. Shawn has a lot of good qualities.”
Dunbar started a rebuilding project in Port Hope and guided it to records of 15-26-1-2 in 2018-19 and 21-16-3-5 in ’19-20.
Now he’s joining Lakefield as it moves into a bit of a rebuild.
“Lakefield is quite young and we’re uncertain which OAs will be coming back,” he said.
“It’s going to be a challenge for sure but it’s nice to at least be close to home in dealing with those challenges.”
He assumes his new role May 19. Dunbar said leaving Port Hope wasn’t easy. He enjoyed his time there and developed strong relationships with the players.
“I really, really appreciate the Cobourg Cougars and Port Hope Panthers for their support and belief in my abilities to bring me down there and rebuild the team. I feel like we did that to take a team with four veterans to the playoffs and lose to the eventual Schmalz Cup champions and then this year to be 16 points better. I really appreciate Adam Yahn, Mark Mercier, Yvette Lagrois for giving me the chance.”