Penguins Name Kirk MacDonald as AHL Head Coach

The Pittsburgh Penguins have officially wrapped their coaching searches. By finally filling the head coaching vacancy at the AHL level, the Penguins organizational coaching staff should be set.

Rob Beer / The Rink Live

It was announced today that Kirk MacDonald will take over as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

MacDonald, 40, joins the Penguins organization with over 10 years of coaching experience. Most recently, he was the head coach of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. The Saints finished 2023-24 with a USHL best 41-13-8 record.

The Penguins have made it a goal to build their AHL squad into one of the top development programs in hockey. MacDonald previously being with a top USHL team shows that the Penguins are serious about developing their future stars.

MacDonald spent eight years with the ECHL’s Reading Royals in numerous coaching roles.

Multiple names had previously emerged as candidates for the WBS Penguins job, but MacDonald’s name was never floated until recently.

The search for the Penguins AHL coach was led by assistant general manager Jason Spezza.

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Penguins Name Kirk MacDonald as AHL Head Coach

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