New Jersey Devils Find New AHL Coach In Mark Dennehy
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils became the last team in the league to hire their AHL coach after promoting the one they had. Still, they made a very good hire in Mark Dennehy.
The Binghamton Devils lost their coach very late in the offseason, when the New Jersey Devils promoted Rick Kowalsky to become one of John Hynes’ assistants. There weren’t a ton of options left, but someone the Devils made one of the best hires. They hired former Merrimack coach Mark Dennehy to lead players in Binghamton.
It is a peculiar move, after Dennehy just accepted an offer to coach the Wheeling Wailers, the ECHL team for the Pittsburgh Penguins. However, Dennehy is 50 years old, and these jobs don’t open that often. He was able to make the jump to the AHL early, and one can’t blame him for jumping on it.
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Dennehy was the leader of Merrimack for 13 seasons. In the previous four, he coached Devils prospect and current AHLer Brett Seney. Obviously, that’s not a reason to hire a coach, but it definitely helps that Seney didn’t raise any red flags.
During his time at Merrimack, he posted 161 wins and turned around a program in disarray. It’s hard to make headway when you play in a division with Boston College, Boston University, Northeastern University, and other teams that play in icy New England. It’s hard for teams to make headway, but Dennehy was able to do that.
Dennehy will be taking over a Binghamton team that’s finally used to its new home. After a down first season in their new home, the once Albany Devils are ready to make a return to the Calder Cup Playoffs. He has a very important position within the Devils organization. Players like Michael McLeod, Nathan Bastian and Joey Anderson are the future of this Devils organization. Now, they will spend time with Dennehy. He’s the right coach at this time to build the Devils of the future.