The Seattle Kraken have announced that Dan Bylsma will be the club’s new head coach. Bylsma is Dave Hakstol’s successor, the latter having received his marching orders on April 29. General Manager Ron Francis and team owner Samantha Holloway announced the hiring alongside Bylsma himself at a press conference, although the team’s social media accounts revealed the big news in the minutes leading up to the event.
Dan Bylsma Goes from NHL to AHL and Back Again
We’ve mentioned Dan Bylsma a few times in recent months here at The Hockey Writers. We wrote a spotlight in March on the Kraken’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, currently led by Dan Bylsma. In the franchise’s two years of existence, it has already experienced two deep playoff runs. They’re prepping for a Western Conference Finals battle versus the Milwaukee Admirals.
Bylsma has already experienced one sting in the NHL. His most notable chapter was in the late 2000s and early 2010s behind the bench for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He took over the job in 2008-09 and helped Sidney Crosby and company hoist the Stanley Cup that season. In six seasons with the Penguins, the club never finished worse than second place in its division and reached the Eastern Conference Final twice, including the championship season. What’s more, he was the Jacks Adams Award winner for the 2010-2011 season.
After that came a year-two episode with the Buffalo Sabres for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 campaigns. Those did not go as well – they missed the playoffs in both seasons. Then again, the Sabres were in a miasma of mediocrity before he arrived and have continued to be after he left.
A new era begins in Seattle Kraken history, but not before Bylsma tries to win the Calder Cup with the Firebirds this season.
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