In a milestone move for the brand-new 32nd franchise in the American Hockey League, the Coachella Valley Firebirds named Stanley Cup-winning Dan Bylsma head coach Tuesday. He joins Seattle’s AHL affiliate after a season as assistant coach with the Charlotte Checkers, which won the AHL’s 2021-22 regular-season Atlantic Division title with a split roster of developing pros from the Kraken and Florida Panthers.
“We’re excited to name Dan Bylsma the first head coach in Coachella Valley Firebirds history,” said Seattle Kraken General Manager Ron Francis. “The head coach of our AHL affiliate plays a critical role in developing future Kraken players.
“Dan worked with our prospects this past season in Charlotte and brings a wealth of NHL and AHL experience to our new AHL club. We look forward to Dan guiding our team.”
“It’s an exciting opportunity to go in on the ground floor for Coachella Valley alongside the Kraken to establish a culture and mindset with a winning backdrop,” said Bylsma early Tuesday before the official announcement. “We’re going to be an expansion team in the American Hockey League with the Seattle way of doing things and developing players.”
When Bylsma joined the Kraken’s player development staff before last season, a big reason was Seattle GM Ron Francis’ track record of drafting players and further developing them into consistent and high-performing NHL players while overseeing Carolina Hurricanes hockey operations (along with several colleagues now with the Kraken). Bylsma added he is highly impressed with the one-year progress of the Kraken inaugural 2021 draft class.
“The types of players Ron likes have good hockey sense, smart, great skaters,” said Bylsma. “Those are key attributes for the future success of the Kraken. I am really looking forward to developing our players … I think a huge part of development is ultimately winning together as a team and we will be looking to do that. It’s energizing.”
Bylsma is familiar to hockey fans, most notable for leading the Pittsburgh Penguins to the 2009 Stanley Cup after taking over as head coach mid-season to finish the regular season with an 18-3-4 record. The Stanley Cup Final was an all-time classic between the Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings. Two seasons later, Bylsma won the Jack Adams NHL coach-of-the-year award.
After six years in Pittsburgh, Bylsma served as the Buffalo Sabres head coach for two seasons. More recently, he was an assistant coach with the Detroit Red…
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