In a surprising move, the New Jersey Devils moved former Binghamton Devils head coach Mark Dennehy to the front office and replaced him on the bench with Kevin Dineen. The B-Devils did not have the season any of us hoped. They added a ton of talent, but the team just didn’t win. This was after they made a miraculous run to a playoff spot the season before until the coronavirus pandemic ended the season early.
Dineen takes over a Utica team at probably its most important time. The team made the controversial move to leave Binghamton early to go to another Upstate New York team in Utica. Fans were not happy, and the Devils have to get people in that city to switch their allegiance from Vancouver (the team affiliation that was there last season) and follow the Devils long term.
There is an influx of very important prospects coming to Binghamton. Alexander Holtz is likely going to be on Utica to start the season. The Swedish winger is expected to be a 30-goal scorer in the NHL one day. He had an up-and-down season last year, so he needs to prove he can bounce back. Reilly Walsh is in the second year of his development under the Devils’ umbrella. Kevin Bahl has high hopes after a really good end to his season last year. Tyce Thompson is another player with high hopes coming out of college. Graeme Clarke was able to spend an extra season in the AHL last year, and he was the team’s best scorer. Dawson Mercer is looking to build off his momentum from last season in juniors. There are at least five other players with NHL upside that will be playing with Utica this season. That doesn’t even include the new goalie tandem in Akira Schmid and Nico Daws.
Dineen comes to the U-Devils (let me ease into calling them the Comets) with a 15-year coaching resumé. He finished his playing career with the Columbus Blue Jackets back in 2002 after a 17-year NHL career. He immediately went to coach the Portland Pirates for six seasons. He kept getting better as a coach and eventually got the head coaching job with the Florida Panthers.
Devils fans might remember Dineen because he was the Panthers coach during their epic seven-game series in 2012. Many people counted the Panthers out before the series began, but they ended up giving the Devils their biggest fight on their way to the Stanley Cup Final. The Devils needed two straight overtime goals to win the series.
After that, he led the Canadian women’s ice hockey team to the Sochi Olympics in 2014. That team won the gold medal over Team USA in overtime.
He eventually went back to the AHL ranks and coached the Anaheim Ducks’ affiliate in San Diego. He was replaced after two seasons, and now he’s coming to Utica.
Mark Dennehy deserved more of a chance to turn this ship around, but the Devils got a head coach for its AHL affiliate that has a long history of leading teams to playoff finishes. He’s often been pushed out of jobs, but it seems he gets the best out of his players. The Devils now have to build him a staff that can help these players grow and learn to win.