The Philadelphia Rebels have announced today that Billy Pugliese will serve as the team’s Director of Scouting while Oktay Armagan will be the Director of Player Development. Both will report to General Manager and Head Coach Joe Coombs.
“I’m thrilled to have Billy and Oktay on our scouting staff” stated Coombs. “We have been very successful these past two years and we don’t want to stop. In order to win the Robertson Cup we need to constantly evaluate the talent in North American and overseas. These two gentlemen have been very successful in the past, and I know they will help us in the future” concluded Coombs.
Pugliese played two years in the United States Hockey League with the Green Bay Gamblers where he captured two national championships, two Anderson Cups and one Clark Cup. During his tenure with the Gamblers he amassed 116 points.
Pugliese then played four years at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. He led the team in scoring his freshman year. After finishing his college career, Pugliese played three years professionally, one year with the San Diego Gulls of the WCHL and two years with the Muskegon Fury of the United Hockey League. He was a member of the league’s Colonial Cup champions during the 2003-04 season.
After his playing career was cut short due to injuries, Pugliese began his coaching career in 2004 with the Omaha Hockey Club. He currently serves as the coach for Omaha’s U10 girls team and mites. From 2007 through 2009, Pugliese was a volunteer assistant coach with is alma mater working with the forwards, power play and video analysis. He owns and operates MavXHockey, a series of development camps that help players improve their skating and puck skills.
Armagan played ACHA hockey for Towson University and then Rider University where he captained the team to three ACHA Division II final appearances.
He began his career with the National Hockey League’s St. Louis Blues as the Video Editor of Amateur Scouting for four years. Armagan then became an assistant coach for the 2005 ECHL’s Trenton Titans who won the Kelly Cup Championship. He also was a member of the 2014 ECHL’s Reading Royals Eastern Conference Champions coaching staff. Armagan served as an assistant coach for the NAHL’s New Jersey Titans during their inaugural season.
Armagan has over 22 years as a youth hockey coach and skills instructor. He currently is on the staff of the NAHL Central Scouting and USA Hockey Atlantic District Program. He is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the New Jersey Raiders company which trains players. He has successfully trained and developed over 35 NCAA/ACHA players in the last three years.
