The Maine Mariners have a new head coach and general manager. And he knows Portland well.
Rick Kowalsky, who played with the Portland Pirates from 1996-99, takes over as the fourth Mariners head coach since the team’s formation in 2018. Kowalsky, who has been coaching since the 2005-06 season, was most recently the head coach of the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League (AHL) from 2023-25, accumulating a 40-88-11-5 record over his two seasons.
“I’m very excited, it’s been kind of a long summer going through this process,” said Kowalsky, 53. “The more and more I went through the interview process and had conversations with (Mariners owner/governor Dexter Paine), I just felt really good about where this (team) is headed and has potential to head. The icing is, it’s in a city where I certainly enjoyed my time as a player and really enjoyed being there.”
Kowalsky takes over the head coaching role from Terrence Wallin, who led the Mariners to a 107-94-0-15 record over three seasons, leading Maine to two Kelly Cup playoff appearances. The Mariners — the ECHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins — missed the playoffs last season with a 33-35-4-0 record. Wallin, 33, stepped down as head coach on July 14 to become an assistant coach with the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
The majority of Kowalsky’s playing career was spent in the ECHL, totaling 516 games with the Hampton Roads Admirals, Roanoke Express and Trenton Titans. He led the Titans to the Kelly Cup during the 2004-05 season, his final as a player, scoring 23 goals and adding 29 assists. Kowalsky is 20th all-time in points in ECHL history with 550. He was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2017.
“I think (my history in the ECHL) will resonate with some of our guys, knowing I played a majority of my career at that level, and was able to have success and win a Kelly Cup my last year,” Kowalsky said. “I’m going to get cracking on what we have and what we want to build. But at the end of the day I want to be a fast, aggressive team, with the puck and without the puck.”
“It was a really great (hiring) process, we met a lot of great people. I think Portland, Maine, is a desirable place for people to come coach,” said Mariners CEO/alternate governor Adam Goldberg. “(Kowalsky) was someone who has so much great experience, and can really set a new tone for the franchise. It was an opportunity we couldn’t really pass up. We’re just really excited Rick joined the team and excited to see what he can do behind the bench.”
After retiring as a player, Kowalsky entered coaching as an assistant in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals during the 2005-06 season. He took over as head coach of the Trenton Titans (later Trenton Devils) in the ECHL from 2006-10, leading the team to two playoff runs in four seasons. He was named the ECHL Coach of the Year in 2009.
Kowalsky moved back to the AHL in 2010, taking over as head coach of the Albany (later Binghamton) Devils for eight seasons. His best year with the team was in 2016, leading the Devils to a 46-20-10 record. That same year, Kowalsky was named AHL Coach of the Year.
Kowalsky also has experience at the NHL level, serving as an assistant coach for the New Jersey Devils from 2018-21.
A native of Simcoe, Ontario, Kowalsky was a 10th-round (227th overall) selection of the Buffalo Sabres in the 1992 NHL draft. A right wing, Kowalsky had a 16-year playing career with 183 games in the AHL – 108 in Portland, where totaled 24 goals, 48 assists and 173 penalty minutes. Kowalsky had seven points (five goals, two assists) for Portland during the 1997-98 Calder Cup playoffs.
“It’s weird how you remember stuff as a player, but I remember as a player that (the Cross Insurance Arena) the stands and the fans, it has a bit of a darker feel. On the ice it was unique, and I can still see that (in the current building),” Kowalsky said. “What I remember the most is the fan base. Any fan event we had down in the Old Port or within the community, it was always a great turnout. I just really enjoyed the home crowd there.”
“It’s a big deal for someone to come in and have familiarity (with Portland), he doesn’t have to start from square one,” added Goldberg. “He understands the passion of the fan base. He understands that this is a fan base that wants to win, and he does, too. It’s a perfect marriage.”
Previous head coaches for the Mariners include Riley Armstrong (2018-20) and Ben Guite (2021-22). The team also announced that assistant coach Zach Tolkinen will remain on the staff.
