Bylsma was the coach of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Penguins’ AHL affiliate, when he replaced Michel Therrien in Pittsburgh on February 15, 2009; At 38 years old, he was the youngest coach in the NHL at the time. The Penguins finished the 2008-09 season 18-3-4 and went on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings in seven games to win the Cup.
Two seasons later, he won the Jack Adams Award and was voted NHL Coach of the Year as the Penguins went 49-25-8 despite losing 350 games to injury and missing forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for the final 35 regular season games. .
He coached the Sabers for two seasons (2015-2017), and missed the playoffs in each season.
Following his time in Buffalo, Bylsma was an assistant coach for three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings (2018-21), then was hired by Seattle as an assistant with Charlotte of the AHL in 2021-22, when he was affiliated with the Kraken. And the Florida Panthers.
Bylsma emphasized that when he took the job with Charlotte, he hoped it would lead to a coaching job with Coachella Valley.
“You can wonder why my path might have led me to Charlotte,” Bylsma said. “But really, it was…I was grateful to Ron at that time because he gave me the opportunity to coach again. I took a few years off from being a head coach, and I really decided I wanted it.” Give me another chance to be a head coach again, and that’s really what led me to Charlotte, I was looking forward to the resume, I will say that.
Bylsma said Jessica Campbell, his assistant coach in the AHL, had been brought up as an opportunity to join his staff in Seattle. If she does, she will be the first woman to serve as an assistant coach in the NHL.
“the [Kraken] The coaching staff, Jay Leach and [Dave Lowry] “They are individuals I would like to talk to moving forward,” Bylsma said. “And the possibility of bringing someone else into the organization as well to complement the players, to complement myself as a coach, and Jessica was part of that conversation,” Bylsma said. [Coachella Valley assistant] Stu Bickle has been part of that conversation. “What they’ve done the last few years in developing players there, Ty Carty and Ryker Evans is proof of that, and so they’re part of the conversation about moving forward with the staff here.”
Francis said he and Bylsma will discuss the rest of the coaching staff, as well as Bylsma’s replacement with the AHL team, at a later date.
“Dan and I have had conversations about our current staff and who might be available there,” Francis said. “I haven’t had any conversations with Jessica about it at this point. I think the job she did, though… the reason we hired her, we didn’t hire her because she was female, we hired her because I thought she was a good coach, and she had an interesting background.” Not just skating, but also skill development, and that was a big part of what they were able to do in the Coachella Valley.
Bylsma also coached the U.S. national team at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, was an assistant with the New York Islanders (2005-06) and in the American Hockey League with Cincinnati (2004-05) before joining Wilkes-Barre/Scranton as an assistant in 2006.
He played 429 games in the NHL as a forward for the Los Angeles Kings and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim after being selected in the sixth round (No. 109) by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1989 NHL Draft. He earned the nickname “Disco Dan” while playing for the Phoenix of the International Hockey League from 1994 to 1996.
The San Jose Sharks are the only team without a coach. Since the conclusion of the regular season, the Sabers hired Lindy Ruff on April 22, Travis Green joined the Ottawa Senators on May 7, the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Craig Berube to the position on May 17, and Sheldon Keefe was hired by the New Jersey Devils in May 23. Scott Arnell became coach of the Winnipeg Jets the next day.
NHL.com freelance reporter Darren Brown contributed to this report
