Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Options Author
Derek King will admit that earlier than changing into the franchise’s twenty ninth head coach this week, he had minimal connections to the Hershey Bears.
However from a distance, at the least, King knew what Hershey represents.
“I really feel like that is the thirty third NHL workforce,” King mentioned, “and it’s like an Unique Six workforce. I’m very excited and honored that they assume that I can take the helm and run with it. Anyone reaching out to me, it’s all they speak about: what a spot to get a training job.”
King additionally involves Hershey with three key relationships that can take anybody far with Bears followers. Vp of hockey operations Bryan Helmer, briefly a teammate of with the St. Louis Blues, noticed him as a great match. Former Bears head coach Todd Nelson had King as a participant/assistant coach in Grand Rapids. And former Bears captain Garrett Mitchell performed for King with the Rockford IceHogs. In truth, it was Mitchell, a Bears fan favourite for his gritty, passionate play, whose reward for Hershey helped to encourage King to use for the teaching emptiness this summer season.
So whereas King and Bears followers are largely unfamiliar with one another, the frequent hyperlinks are a significant first step for either side. What followers do know is that they’re getting a head coach who performed for the likes of Al Arbour, Paul Maurice, Pat Quinn and Joel Quenneville earlier than making his method into teaching. He spent 9 seasons within the Blackhawks group, as an assistant and head coach in Rockford and later as an interim head coach and later assistant in Chicago. He additionally spent six years as an assistant with the Toronto Marlies.
When the Hershey put up grew to become obtainable after Nelson left for Pittsburgh in June, King despatched a textual content message to Mitchell. With Mitchell’s encouragement, King received in contact with Helmer, and the choice course of began to unfold. Helmer and Washington Capitals administration began the duty of sorting by a prolonged checklist of candidates, and as King’s candidacy started to realize momentum, he spoke with Caps common supervisor Chris Patrick, head coach Spencer Carbery and director of hockey operations Jason Fitzsimmons.
Hershey’s previous three head coaches – Carbery, Capitals assistant Scott Allen, and Nelson – all now maintain NHL jobs. The group’s confirmed potential to graduate coaches to the NHL meant that King confronted a powerful candidate pool.
“It’s not straightforward on the market,” King acknowledged. “There are a whole lot of good candidates.”
However quickly a consolation degree started to take maintain as the 2 sides talked additional.
“I felt actual comfy speaking to those guys,” King mentioned. “Simply how comfy they make you’re feeling. There’s no tip-toeing round. No person’s you, staring you down like, ‘Who’s this man?’ All people has open arms welcoming all people.”
Wednesday’s media convention to introduce King had just a few completely different moods to it. Together with that getting-to-know-you really feel, it additionally marked one thing of a subsequent step for the Bears as they prepared themselves for the twenty first season of an affiliation with Washington that has produced 5 Calder Cup championships.
A lot of the core from the golf equipment that gained the Calder Cup in 2023 and 2024 have scattered to varied factors round hockey. King’s Bears are going to be younger and hungry, which ought to mesh properly with the coach’s popularity for his communication abilities, forthright demeanor and player-friendly method.
“The massive factor right here for me is I’m an trustworthy man,” King mentioned. “I’m honest. I’ve an open-door coverage. I count on gamers to work exhausting and be humble.”
King gained appreciable expertise working with younger gamers in Rockford and Chicago. The Capitals and Bears wanted a frontrunner with sturdy instructing abilities and a gentle hand. In addition they are guaranteeing some continuity by bringing again assistant coaches Nick Bootland and Patrick Wellar – one thing that Helmer considers a lucky break as he had anticipated they might each have been prospects to land head-coaching jobs of their very own.
“We thought Derek was that man that might simply match proper in and take over from Todd Nelson,” Helmer defined. “I feel he’ll match proper in.”
Whereas the Bears will probably be biking in a brand new group of prospects come October, there stays one fixed in Hershey: followers need a contender.
“That was one factor that we advised Derek proper off the bat,” Helmer recounted. “The strain’s going to be right here, and our followers count on us to win the Calder Cup yearly.”
King is OK with that type of strain, and even doubled down on these expectations.
“Clearly there was success right here,” King mentioned. “I’m not coming in to throw elbows and alter every part up. I’m right here to assist maintain constructing it to even get higher. I’m going to deal with this prefer it’s an NHL workforce.”
“I do know the Bears have gained (the Calder Cup), and that’s nice. However now it’s time to win it once more.”
On the American Hockey League beat for 20 years, TheAHL.com options author Patrick Williams additionally presently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a daily contributor on SiriusXM NHL Community Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his excellent protection of the league in 2016.
