Hockey Operations
Dave Allison
Head Coach
Dave Allison was named the 18th head coach in Rivermen history on June 13, 2012 , bringing 18 years of head coaching experience to the Rivermen bench.
He has spent the majority of his career in developmental leagues (AHL, ECHL, IHL, OHL) and also had a 25-game stint as the interim head coach of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators during the 1995-96 season.
The 53-year-old has an outstanding record of developing prospects into NHL players including Brett Lindros, Chris Gratton, Matt Greene, Loui Eriksson, James Neal, Mike Smith and current St. Louis Blue B.J. Crombeen and former Blue, the late, Pavol Demitra.
Peoria is Allison’s fourth head coaching stop in the American Hockey League after Prince Edward Island (1994-96), Milwaukee (2001-02) and Iowa (2005-08). He also coached for Milwaukee (2000-01) and Grand Rapids (1996-98) while they were members of the IHL. During his time with the Iowa Stars, he worked under then-Dallas Stars, and current St. Louis Blues, general manager Doug Armstrong.
In 423 games as an AHL head coach, the Fort Frances, Ontario native has compiled a record of 199-179-20-25. He has coached in over 900 professional games and over 1,100 total since his coaching career began in 1989.
Most recently, Allsion served as a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Prior to joining Pittsburgh, he worked as a part of the player development team with the Colorado Avalanche.
As a player, Allison enjoyed a 10-year professional career in the AHL, IHL, and in the NHL. The defenseman was signed by the Montreal Canadiens as a free agent in 1979. He spent six seasons with their AHL club in Nova Scotia and played three games with the Canadiens during the 1983-84 season.
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