J.D. Damrath will be the new hockey coach at Olentangy Orange High School, pending school board approval.
The 56-year-old native of St. Louis played at Ohio State from 1980-83 and coached the Ohio State women’s club team from 2009-12. He also coached the Northville (Michigan) High School girls program from 2014-16.
“I love high school hockey and I’m amazed how the city of Columbus has embraced hockey,” Damrath said. “It reminds me a lot of when I was in St. Louis and we had an expansion team in the Blues. Columbus has really become a nice hockey area, and there are good things happening at the high school level.”
Damrath will replace Tim Chugh, who resigned after three seasons in which the Pioneers went 53-45-4-3 overall and 25-19-1-3 in the Capital Hockey Conference. Last season, they were 19-16-1 overall and fourth (13 points, 6-9-1) in the CHC-White behind champion Cincinnati Moeller (25, 12-3-0-1).
“Coach Damrath played at Ohio State, has a wealth of experience in hockey and has coached at several levels,” athletics director Buck Weaver said. “We’re lucky to get someone with his experience to lead our program.”
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