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Devils Name New Assistant Coaches

The Devils announced via their official website today (June 17) that they have hired Geoff Ward and Alain Nasreddine as new assistant coaches under head coach John Hynes.

The move further restructures the coaching staff and adds a new element behind the bench. According to the Devils’ press release, Ward spent last season with the Adler Mannheim Eagles of the German Ice Hockey League and Nasreddine was an assistant under Hynes with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League.

Ward, at 53 years-old is the better traveled of the two. He has been coaching for 22 years, including seven years as an assistant with the Boston Bruins. During his time there, the Bruins won a Stanley Cup (2011) and reached a Stanley Cup Final (2013). Prior to his time with the B’s, he was a member of the Edmonton Oilers organization. He coached their AHL affiliate at the time, the Hamilton Bulldogs, for more than two seasons, being named co-winner of the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL coach of the year in 2003 along with former Devils coach and current Bruins bench boss Claude Julien, who was also coaching with the Bulldogs at that time. He also coached Hamilton to the Calder Cup Finals in 2003, losing to the Houston Aeros. He was promoted to Edmonton’s development coach in 2005-06.

His coaching career began in 1992-93 when he was named an assistant coach with the Ontario Hockey League’s Niagara Falls Thunder. He was then named head coach of the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL in 1994-95 and served in that position until 1997-98. He then moved on to the Guelph Storm of the OHL in 1998-99. In 1999-2000, he spent time with the Arkansas Riverblades of the ECHL. In addition to last season’s stint in Germany, he also coached in the German League in 2000-01 and 2006-07.

Nasreddine is the younger of the two assistants at age 39. The Montreal native’s coaching career includes five seasons with Hynes in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. A former defenseman, the Baby Pens allowed the fewest goals in the AHL four times under his watch. They also won the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as AHL regular season champions in 2010-11 while he was on staff.

He played his junior hockey with the Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and played 74 games in the NHL (with Chicago, Montreal, the Islanders and Pittsburgh). His pro playing career spanned fifteen years from 1995-96 to 2009-10. He was drafted by the Florida Panthers 135th overall in the sixth round of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Playing in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, he made appearances in the 2004 and 2008 Calder Cup Finals and was the team’s captain in 2004-05 and 2005-06. As a player he won a QMJHL President’s Cup with Chicoutimi as league champions in 1993-94 and advanced to the Memorial Cup.

Although it is kind of disappointing that the team could not find a role for Scott Stevens on the staff (he was a coach who got the most out of his defense, in particular helping Adam Larsson develop into a full-time NHL-caliber defenseman), many fans can understand that both Hynes and new General Manager Ray Shero wanted to go with their own guys behind the bench. Stevens is a three-time Stanley Cup champ with the Devils and was a highly respected player during his playing days and took that into his coaching career. The former Devils captain could have been a good asset to the new coaching staff. Despite that, there is a decent amount of experience between the two men who will be behind the bench next season when it comes to winning, including Ward capturing a Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011.

It is now clear that this is Hynes and Shero’s team and the Devils’ future development will hinge on their moves. Patience by ownership and management will also be a key, as the coaching staff is very young and will need time to grow with their players. The team will certainly have a new look this coming season, something that was to be expected after the last few seasons.

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More Thoughts on John Hynes Hiring

After letting the announcement of the Devils hiring former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins coach John Hynes to be their new bench boss sink in, there are some other things that come to mind.

At the press conference announcing Hynes, General Manager Ray Shero pointed out that coaches today are coming from many different backgrounds. He cited Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper as an example of a coach with an “unorthodox” background going on to great things in the NHL. Of course, the Lightning are set to begin the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals tonight (June 3) against the Chicago Blackhawks, which is what Shero was getting at. His point was that Hynes’ lack of NHL experience is not a hindrance, but rather a blessing. Hiring guys who had been fired elsewhere is not always a great solution to a problem like the Devils face.

Hynes’ background is solid, however. Born in Warwick, Rhode Island, he played four years at Boston University, according to a press release on the Devils website, included in his time with the Terriers was four straight trips to the NCAA Frozen Four and a 1995 NCAA championship. Upon graduation, he became a graduate assistant at BU, serving under Coach Jack Parker. His other college coaching credits include time at UMass-Lowell in 2000-01 and Wisconsin in 2002-03 both as an assistant.

From 2003 to 2009, he was head coach of the USA Hockey National Development Program. During his time with that program, the Devils’ press release states that he went 188-131-16-10. He coached the US Under-18 National Team to gold (2006), silver (2004) and bronze (2008) in the World Under-18 Championships. He coached Team USA at the 2008 World Juniors, winning gold there and was an assistant coach on the 2004 team that won gold at the same tournament.

In 2009, he joined the pro ranks, being hired by then-Pittsburgh GM Shero to be an assistant coach with the Baby Pens in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He took over as head coach the following season. He posted a .637 winning percentage in his five seasons there. Although he did not win a Calder Cup in the AHL, he posted a winning record every year in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He guided the team to the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals in both 2012-13 and 2013-14. The 2010-11 season was perhaps his finest as he won Coach of the Year while leading the Penguins to an AHL-best 58-21-0-1 record for 117 points. He was also given the reigns as one of the coaches of the Western Conference at that season’s AHL All-Star Game.

Even though he never reached the Calder Cup Finals in the AHL, he did lead the Pens to a feat never achieved in the AHL before. In the second round against the Providence Bruins, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was down three games to none. By winning the next four, including the last two on the road, they became the first AHL team to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.

The Devils press release also mentions that he had 40-plus wins in each of his five years in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and that his teams allowed the fewest goals in the AHL in four of his years coaching the Pens.

What all this means is that, while not hiring a retread, the Devils are getting a head coach who has a lot of experience in the game of hockey. He might be the youngest coach in the NHL, but he has spent his entire life around the game and is, by all accounts, a good communicator.

Cory Schneider, who played under him with the National Development Program, seemed enthused when he was hired, which gives the rookie coach a vote of confidence right there when his starting goaltender is on board. He is also a guy that is right out of the Lamoriello/Shero mold: a US college guy with international coaching experience who even shares the same home state as Lou Lamoriello – Rhode Island.

In the end, the results on the ice will do the talking, but right now, most Devils fans seem to be optimistic across the board on what could be a monumental hiring for the team.