WORCESTER—Just when it seems we’ve heard everything on and off the ice in professional hockey, some unexpected stunner comes along.
This one involves the Railers’ new assistant coach. He has spent his life on skates, has lived in the area, and has cashed more than one paycheck from the ECHL.
Welcome back to Worcester, Chris Rumble, former professional….referee. The Railers named him their new assistant coach Wednesday.
“This is one the strangest things I’ve been involved with in pro hockey,” Railers COO Mike Myers said. “I don’t think I ever remember a referee becoming a coach.”
It usually works the other way, players and coaches turning to officiating. One such former Worcester player is Jordan Samuels-Thomas, who played for the Railers in 2019-20 and has become a National Hockey League referee.
Rumble is 35. To be clear, he played professional hockey before trading sticks for a whistle. He spent parts of three seasons between the AHL and ECHL and played in Europe. That included 56 games for Binghamton in the American Hockey League in 2016-17.
He spent the last three seasons as an official and refereed two Railers games along the way, both last season. Rumble was at the DCU Center for a 4-3 overtime loss to Norfolk on Dec. 8 and worked Worcester’s 5-2 defeat in Trois-Rivieres on March 30.
“We’re very excited to have Chris aboard,” General manager and Head Coach Nick Tuzzolino said. “Our relationship goes back many years to when we were playing together in Binghamton. He comes from a long family history of coaching and hockey knowledge, and we are super grateful to now have that wealth of knowledge and experience at our disposal.
“His unique path going from playing to refereeing to coaching offers a unique outlook on the game and a different perspective on how to handle certain situations.”
Rumble is the seventh different assistant coach in the Railers’ eight seasons. Rumble was preceded by Terry Bangen, Derek Army, Bob Deraney in both 2019-20 and 2023-24, Jason Franzone, Jimmy Sharrow and Tuzzolino.
“I’m eager to come to Worcester and continue the growth of the team that was initiated by Nick last season,” Rumble said. “He’s someone that I’ve done work with in the past and someone that I know has the same hockey mind as myself. His style of leadership is the new era of coaching, and he’s someone I’m excited to learn from.”
He is the son of IceCats defenseman Darren Rumble, who lived in Shrewsbury while playing for Worcester. Darren Rumble was an IceCat for parts of three seasons including their first-place team in 2000-2001. He played in 152 games and was 9-10-79, the fourth-highest career points total for an IceCats defenseman.
“We’re excited to have a legacy from Worcester pro hockey join our organization,” Myers said. “Chris has gone through a lot in his life and has a wide breadth of experience along with a unique path to getting behind the bench at the ECHL level. “
Darren Rumble went into coaching after his time with the IceCats and played in 14 different cities before that.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity to come back to a city I’ve lived in before for three years,” Chris Rumble said. “While three is short to some, it was the longest I had ever stayed in one place growing up. I enjoyed it here so much, that I have complete confidence bringing my family here. I know they’ll enjoy it the same way I did.”
Rumble’s hiring is the latest in many off-season moves for the Railers. They have previously announced 16 player signings including this week’s agreements with brothers Tanner and Porter Schachle.
They join Noah Kane, Kabore Dunn, Riley Piercey, Darien Kielb, Matt DeMelis, Ryan Mahshie, Jake Stevens, Kolby Johnson, Ryan Dickinson, Cole Fraser, Cole Donhauser, Tyson Gilmour, Lincoln Hatten, and Anthony Repaci on that list.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
