Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
Derek King will admit that before becoming the franchise’s 29th head coach this week, he had minimal connections to the Hershey Bears.
But from a distance, at least, King knew what Hershey represents.
“I feel like this is the 33rd NHL team,” King said, “and it’s like an Original Six team. I’m very excited and honored that they think that I can take the helm and run with it. Anybody reaching out to me, it’s all they talk about: what a place to get a coaching job.”
King also comes to Hershey with three key relationships that will take anyone far with Bears fans. Vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer, briefly a teammate of with the St. Louis Blues, saw him as an ideal fit. Former Bears head coach Todd Nelson had King as a player/assistant coach in Grand Rapids. And former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell played for King with the Rockford IceHogs. In fact, it was Mitchell, a Bears fan favorite for his gritty, passionate play, whose praise for Hershey helped to encourage King to apply for the coaching vacancy this summer.
So while King and Bears fans are largely unfamiliar with each other, the common links are a meaningful first step for both sides. What fans do know is that they are getting a head coach who played for the likes of Al Arbour, Paul Maurice, Pat Quinn and Joel Quenneville before making his way into coaching. He spent nine seasons in the Blackhawks organization, as an assistant and head coach in Rockford and later as an interim head coach and later assistant in Chicago. He also spent six years as an assistant with the Toronto Marlies.
When the Hershey post became available after Nelson left for Pittsburgh in June, King sent a text message to Mitchell. With Mitchell’s encouragement, King got in touch with Helmer, and the selection process started to unfold. Helmer and Washington Capitals management started the task of sorting through a lengthy list of candidates, and as King’s candidacy began to gain momentum, he spoke with Caps general manager Chris Patrick, head coach Spencer Carbery and director of hockey operations Jason Fitzsimmons.
Hershey’s past three head coaches – Carbery, Capitals assistant Scott Allen, and Nelson – all now hold NHL jobs. The organization’s proven ability to graduate coaches to the NHL meant that King faced a strong candidate pool.
“It’s not easy out there,” King acknowledged. “There are a lot of good candidates.”
But soon…
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