Regina Pats hire David Bell as new head coach with local ties

The Regina Pats have named David Bell as the franchise's 44th head coach, marking his first foray into the Western Hockey League after extensive experience in the Ontario Hockey League and American Hockey League.

Bell's Coaching Background

Bell, 49, a native of Wiarton, Ontario, joins the Pats after seven seasons with the AHL's Belleville Senators, where he served as an assistant coach from 2019 to 2023 and as head coach from 2023 to 2025 before being dismissed in December. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach with the AHL's Ontario Reign from 2017 to 2019. His junior hockey career includes assistant coaching roles with the Sudbury Wolves (2012-13), Niagara IceDogs (2013-16), and Owen Sound Attack (2004-07), as well as a head coaching stint with the IceDogs in 2016-17. He also coached in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons and in the Central Hockey League with the Quad City Mallards.

Connections to Regina

Though Bell has never played or coached in Saskatchewan, he has connections to the region through former Regina Pats captain Colby Williams, who played under Bell with the Belleville Senators from 2020 to 2022. Williams, now 31 and playing in Russia's KHL, provided a strong endorsement to Pats general manager Dale Derkatch. “He said Dave was the best coach he’s had,” Derkatch said. “So obviously a player that’s that old, has been through the whole coaching gamut, from minor hockey all the way to pro, and now in Europe. He said that and that was enough for me.”

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Team Outlook

Bell takes over a Pats team that made the playoffs last season after two years at the bottom of the WHL's Eastern Conference. Following a rebuild, the team is expected to continue its upward trajectory when the season begins Sept. 18. “There’s a lot of buzz around this team,” Bell said during his introductory press conference on June 22 at the Brandt Centre. “That’s one of the biggest things that made it intriguing to me, and I think they’re ready to take a big step in their personal games, and as a group in the standings. I think they’re ready to pop.”