In a move that was expected pretty much since the job became open, the Bruins named former Providence Bruins captain Trent Whitfield as the 14th head coach of the AHL farm club, replacing Ryan Mougenel after he accepted an assistant spot on the Vancouver Canucks coaching staff.
On its face, the hire makes a ton of sense, as Whitfield has been an assistant in Providence for the last decade and has stepped in as the de facto head coach at times when the P-Bruins head coach was briefly absent over the last couple of seasons.
So the 49-year-old has been groomed for the gig over the last few years and checks the boxes in terms of resume and readiness to be the bench boss in Providence.
“I’m honored and grateful to the Boston Bruins organization for the opportunity to lead this group in Providence,” said Whitfield. “This is a position I’ve worked toward throughout my career, and I’m excited to get started as we continue to compete at a high level while supporting the growth of our players.”
Beyond the obvious, slotting Whitfield into an important position in Boston’s draft-and-development program is also continuing a trend that we’ve seen with the Black and Gold over the last handful of years. The Bruins continue to stockpile their organization with members of the core group of B’s players who were on the team before, during, and after the 2011 Stanley Cup-winning season.
That trend is no accident, as it’s a continued testament to how special that group was on the ice and to their ability to take what made them special as players and pass it along to the next generation of players in Black and Gold. That will be Whitfield’s responsibility in Providence just as it’s the bailiwick of Marco Sturm and Chris Kelly at the NHL level, and with Zdeno Chara and Adam McQuaid (Director of Player Development) as key members of the Bruins management team.
“We are excited to announce Trent Whitfield as head coach of the Providence Bruins,” said Don Sweeney. “Over the past 10 seasons, Trent has established himself as a highly successful coach, and we are confident that he is ready for this opportunity. His ability to create a winning culture while prioritizing player development will help prepare our players for success at the NHL level.”
The thinking behind this pattern of bringing back members of that core group will be hammered home this season as it continues a several years process of Hall of Famers from that group being honored both by the organization, and by the hockey world at large, with Patrice Bergeron on tap for both Hockey Hall of Fame honors and having his No. 37 retired by the Bruins on Dec. 1 ahead of a game at TD Garden against the Colorado Avalanche.
Bergeron has not officially joined the Bruins organization at this point, while happily fulfilling his role as a father and husband in a young family with four kids, but even he has not been a stranger around this Bruins team, with Sturm running the NHL show as one of his former teammates and linemates. And it was Sweeney and the Bruins discussing
