Pittsburgh Penguins name new Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins’ AHL team has named its new head coach.

Penguins President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas announced Kirk MacDonald as the new head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Wednesday.

The naming of the new head coach comes nearly two months after the team decided not to renew the contracts of head coach J.D. Forrest and assistant coach Kevin Porter.

>>> Penguins aren’t renewing contract of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach

The 40-year-old native of Victoria, British Columbia, becomes the 12th AHL coach in Penguins history. MacDonald comes to the team with over a decade of coaching experience, with his most recent stint as the head coach for the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League from 2022-24. He led Dubuque to the best record in the USHL’s Eastern Conference this past season, going 41-13-8 in the regular season and winning the Eastern Conference Championship.

MacDonald had a seven-year-long professional career from 2007-2013, spending most of it at the AHL level.

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