Bylsma was the head coach of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins’ AHL affiliate, on February 15, 2009, when he replaced Michel Therrien in Pittsburgh. At age 38, he was the youngest coach in the NHL at the time. The Penguins finished the 2008-09 season 18-3-4 and defeated the Detroit Red Wings in seven games to win the title.
Two seasons later, he won the Jack Adams Award and was named coach of the year as the Penguins went 49-25-8, losing 350 man-games to injury and losing forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for the final 35 regular-season games. .
He coached the Sabers for two seasons (2015-17), missing the playoffs each season.
After his time in Buffalo, Bylsma was an assistant coach with the Detroit Red Wings (2018-21) for three seasons, before joining the Kraken in 2021-22 as an assistant in Seattle of the AHL’s Charlotte. And the Florida Panthers.
Bylsma confirmed that when he took the job with Charlotte, he hoped it would lead to a coaching job with the Coachella Valley.
“You’re probably wondering why my path led me to Charlotte,” Bylsma said. But really, he was… I was grateful to Ron for giving me the opportunity to train again. I took a few years off from being a head coach, and decided that I really wanted to. Give me a chance to be a head coach again and that’s what led me to Charlotte.
Bylsma said Jessica Campbell, an assistant coach in the AHL, came as an option to join his staff in Seattle. If she does, she will become the first woman to become an assistant coach in the NHL.
” of [Kraken] Coaching staff, Jay Leach and [Dave Lowry] They are the individuals that I want to face in the future” Bylsma “and the ability to bring another person to the organization as well as to complement the players, to complement myself as a coach, and Jessica was part of that conversation. [Coachella Valley assistant] Stu Bickle was part of that conversation. The things they’ve done developing players over the last few years, Tye Cartier and Ryker Evans are testament to that, and so they’re part of the conversation with the staff moving forward.
Francis said he and Bylsma will discuss the rest of the coaching staff as well as Bylsma’s replacement with the AHL team.
“Daniel and I discussed our current staff and who might be there,” Francis said. “I haven’t had any conversations with Jessica at this point. I think she’s done the work, but … we didn’t hire her because she’s a woman, we hired her. I think she’s a great coach, and she has an interesting history of not only skating, but developing talent, and that’s what she’s been able to do with Coachella Valley.” It’s a big body.
Bylsma coached the United States at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and was an assistant with the New York Islanders (2005-06) and Cincinnati (2004-05) in the AHL before joining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as an assistant in 2006.
A sixth-round pick (No. 109) of the Winnipeg Jets in the 1989 NHL Draft, he played 429 NHL games as a forward for the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Mighty Ducks. He earned the nickname “Disco Dan” while playing for Phoenix of the World Hockey League from 1994-96.
The San Jose Sharks are the only team without a coach. Since the end of the regular season, the Sabers hired Lindy Ruff on April 22, Travis Greene joined the Ottawa Senators on May 7, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube on May 17, Sheldon Keefe was hired by the New Jersey Devils on May 23, and Scott Arniel became the coach of the Winnipeg Jets the next day.
NHL.com independent reporter Darren Brown contributed to this report