Kevin Constantine, a former NHL head coach who served as bench boss for the Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, and New Jersey Devils has been hired as the next head coach of the WHL’s Wenatchee Wild. The 64-year-old American has worked behind the bench of WHL teams before, with a combined eight seasons of experience in the league across two stints with the Everett Silvertips.
Constantine reached the WHL Finals in 2003-04, and since his last stint with the Silvertips ended after 2016-17 he’s had quite the coaching journey. Constantine has coached in South Korea, Poland, and has most recently served as head coach for Fehervar AV19 in the ICEHL and as Hungary’s head coach at the 2023 IIHF Men’s World Championships. Constantine will coach a Wild team stocked with some high-end NHL prospects, including three NHL first-round picks: Matthew Savoie, Conor Geekie, and Zach Benson.
Some other notes from across the hockey world:
- Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry told the media today that he’s feeling “100% right now” in terms of his health. Jarry, 28, recently signed a major five-year, $5.375MM AAV contract extension to remain the Penguins’ number-one netminder for what will likely be the rest of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang’s playing days. Given the significant investment the Penguins have made in Jarry’s future, his health is of the utmost importance to the entire organization. Jarry has struggled with injuries in recent seasons, so hearing from him that he’s feeling recovered and at his full capacity is encouraging news for the Penguins’ hopes of competing next season.
- The Anaheim Ducks have announced that they’ve extended their affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers, extending a developmental and business relationship that began in 2020. While it’s not entirely common to see teams utilize ECHL affiliates to develop premier prospects, the option to develop a player in North America’s third-tier league is still a valuable one to have. The Detroit Red Wings utilized their ECHL affiliate to develop 2021 15th overall pick Sebastian Cossa, and now by extending this affiliation agreement the Ducks have secured their ability to elect a similar path for their own prospects moving forward.