Wilkes-Barre/Scranton bolstered its coaching staff with a big hire on Monday.
Wilkes-Barre announced that former NHL defenseman Sheldon Brookbank was named assistant coach. Brookbank spent parts of the past four seasons as an assistant coach for the Blackhawks.
Brookbank joins head coach J.D. Forrest and assistant coach Kevin Porter behind the Penguins' bench. Forrest and Porter are both signed through the 2023-24 season.
Brookbank, 42, retired in 2017 after a 16-year playing career that included 351 NHL games with the Predators, Devils, Ducks and Blackhawks. He won the Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013.
Brookbank started his coaching career the season following his retirement, as an assistant coach for the Blackhawks' AHL affiliate in Rockford, a role he held for parts of two seasons before being promoted to NHL assistant coach.
This is the first time since 2019-20 that Wilkes-Barre has had more than one assistant coach. Previously, Forrest and Porter would split the roles of managing the defensemen and forwards, power play and penalty kill. Development coaches and other members of the front office often are behind the bench, as well.
