Share to: share facebook share twitter share wa share telegram print page

 

Dan Bylsma

Dan Bylsma
Bylsma in 2009
Born (1970-09-19) September 19, 1970 (age 54)
Grand Haven, Michigan, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position Right wing
Shot Left
Played for Los Angeles Kings
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Current NHL coach Seattle Kraken
Coached for Pittsburgh Penguins
Buffalo Sabres
NHL draft 109th overall, 1989
Winnipeg Jets
Playing career 1992–2004
Coaching career 2004–present

Daniel Brian Bylsma[1] (/ˈbaɪlzmə/; born September 19, 1970) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was previously head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres in the NHL, as well as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings, and head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and Coachella Valley Firebirds of the American Hockey League (AHL). He also was the former head coach of the United States men's national ice hockey team. Bylsma won the Stanley Cup with the Penguins in 2009, just four months after being promoted to Pittsburgh's head coaching position.

Prior to coaching, he played as a forward in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He was drafted in the sixth round (109th overall) of the 1989 NHL entry draft, by the Winnipeg Jets.

Early life

During his high school days, Bylsma was a standout in many sports, including golf, baseball, and ice hockey. Bylsma graduated from Western Michigan Christian High School where he won the Class D golf individual championship as a freshman. He also played baseball and was the starting left fielder as a freshman on Christian's 1985 State championship team. In his senior year, he was a member of the all-state all-class "Dream Team" (the best player at each position in the state – all classes), and won many regional baseball honors.

Bylsma played amateur hockey in Muskegon Junior Hockey, Norton Shores Recreational Leagues, and Grand Rapids GRAHA before playing Junior "B" hockey in Canada for the St. Marys Lincolns and the Oakville Blades of the Ontario Hockey Association. Bylsma went on to play college hockey at Bowling Green State University from 1988–1992 and was drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in his freshman year. He was twice selected to the Central Collegiate Hockey Association All Academic Team and once earned Honorable Mention. He was a Bowling Green Scholar Athlete all four years and won the Jack Gregory Award for the highest grade point average on the team in his Sophomore season and the Howard Brown Coaches' Award for excellence in his senior year. Bylsma is one of the few players in the CCHA to have scored a shorthanded goal while his team was two men short.

Professional playing career

Despite being drafted by the Winnipeg Jets, Bylsma never played a game for them, and was signed by the Los Angeles Kings in the summer of 1994. During the 1994–95 labor stoppage, Bylsma earned the nickname "Disco Dan". The nickname was adopted by teammates while playing for a minor league team in Phoenix. Veteran goaltender Byron Dafoe already went by Bylsma's former moniker of "Bysie" so the name "Disco Dan" was given due to Bylsma's penchant for dancing in the locker room.[2]

He played parts of five seasons for the Kings, acting as a defensive forward. In his first season, when he played only four games for the Kings, he was captain of their International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the Phoenix Roadrunners. He also played for the Long Beach Ice Dogs, who were the Kings' IHL affiliate after the Roadrunners folded in 1997. Bylsma played 95 American Hockey League (AHL) games with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, the Lowell Lock Monsters, the Springfield Falcons, the Albany River Rats, the Moncton Hawks and the Rochester Americans, and reached the Calder Cup Finals in 1994.

Signed as a free agent by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the summer of 2000, Bylsma was a steadying influence on a rebuilding Anaheim team, and was made an alternate captain.[3] In his second season, he set a career high in points (17).

Bylsma struggled his entire career to stay in the NHL, mostly due to a lack of natural offensive ability (his primary role in the NHL had always been penalty killing). Injuries took a toll in later years, and before being put on waivers in January 2004, Bylsma missed 31 games due to knee surgery. He retired from playing following the 2003–04 season.[4]

Head Coach Dan Bylsma, Pittsburgh Penguins, Morning Skate in Raleigh, December 3, 2011.

Coaching career

Bylsma served as an assistant coach with the AHL's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks (2004–05) and the NHL's New York Islanders (2005–06). During the 2008–09 season, Bylsma coached the Penguins' AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

On February 15, 2009, with the Pittsburgh Penguins struggling to make the playoffs, the Penguins organization announced that it had relieved head coach Michel Therrien of his duties and had promoted Bylsma to serve as interim head coach of the team.[5] At 38, he was the youngest head coach in the NHL at the time. Through his first 25 games as Penguins' coach, his 18–3–4 record amounted to 40 points—the second most of any coach in NHL history through their first 25 games.[6] On April 28, Penguins General Manager Ray Shero announced that Bylsma had been named permanent head coach of the team.[7] On June 12, 2009, Bylsma led the Pittsburgh Penguins to a Stanley Cup championship, becoming the 14th coach and the second mid-season replacement to win the Stanley Cup in their first season. While the win made him just the fifth ever American-born coach to win the cup, he also became the third American in the last five seasons to do so. Bylsma was awarded the Jack Adams Award as the league's most outstanding coach for the 2010–11 season due to the Penguins still being a contender for the Stanley Cup without his two star players Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

On April 22, 2013, Bylsma became the fastest NHL coach ever[8] to reach 200 wins with a 3–1 win over the Ottawa Senators. On June 30 of the same year, Bylsma was appointed head coach of the United States Olympic for the 2014 Winter Olympics. On January 7, 2014, a month before coaching at the Winter Olympics, Bylsma became the winningest coach in Penguins history (233 wins) with a 5–4 shootout victory over the Vancouver Canucks. On April 4, 2014, Bylsma became the fastest NHL coach to reach 250 wins, leading his team to a 4–2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. He accomplished the feat in 395 games.[9] On June 6, 2014, Bylsma was fired by the Pittsburgh Penguins, shortly after Jim Rutherford was announced as the team's new general manager.[10]

Bylsma remained on the Penguins' payroll, with no job in the organization, through the 2014–15 season. Following that season, the Penguins granted him permission to seek employment elsewhere. On May 28, 2015, Bylsma was named head coach of the Buffalo Sabres, signing a five-year contract.[11] Bylsma was the Sabres second choice for coach after Mike Babcock, who they heavily pursued before Babcock signed with the divisional rival Toronto Maple Leafs.[12][13]

On April 20, 2017, Bylsma was fired by the Sabres after two seasons.[14] The transaction came after rumors leaked that Bylsma was at odds with many of the Sabres players, including star Jack Eichel, who allegedly stated he would not sign a contract extension with the team had Bylsma remained head coach.[15][16][17] On June 22, 2018, Bylsma was hired as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings.[18] On May 18, 2021, it was announced that he would not be returning to the Detroit Red Wings.[19]

On August 10, 2021, Bylsma returned to the AHL, after he was hired by the Seattle Kraken to become an assistant coach with the Charlotte Checkers.[20] On June 21, 2022, Bylsma was named as head coach of the Kraken's new AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds.[21] After a 46–15–6 season in 2023–24 with the Firebirds,[22] Bylsma was promoted to head coach of the Kraken on May 28, 2024, replacing Dave Hakstol.[23]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1986–87 Oakville Blades CJHL 10 4 9 13 21 — — — — —
1986–87 St. Marys Lincolns WOHL 27 14 28 42 21 — — — — —
1987–88 St. Marys Lincolns WOHL 40 30 39 69 33 8 8 18 26 —
1988–89 Bowling Green University CCHA 39 4 7 11 16 — — — — —
1989–90 Bowling Green University CCHA 44 13 17 30 32 — — — — —
1990–91 Bowling Green University CCHA 40 9 12 21 48 — — — — —
1991–92 Bowling Green University CCHA 34 11 14 25 24 — — — — —
1992–93 Greensboro Monarchs ECHL 60 25 35 60 66 1 0 1 1 10
1992–93 Rochester Americans AHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1993–94 Greensboro Monarchs ECHL 25 14 16 30 52 — — — — —
1993–94 Albany River Rats AHL 3 0 1 1 2 — — — — —
1993–94 Moncton Hawks AHL 50 12 16 28 25 21 3 4 7 31
1994–95 Phoenix Roadrunners IHL 81 19 23 42 41 9 4 4 8 4
1995–96 Los Angeles Kings NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1995–96 Phoenix Roadrunners IHL 78 22 20 42 48 4 1 0 1 2
1996–97 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 3 6 9 32 — — — — —
1997–98 Los Angeles Kings NHL 65 3 9 12 33 2 0 0 0 0
1997–98 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 8 2 3 5 0 — — — — —
1998–99 Los Angeles Kings NHL 8 0 0 0 2 — — — — —
1998–99 Springfield Falcons AHL 2 0 2 2 2 — — — — —
1998–99 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 58 10 8 18 53 4 0 0 0 8
1999–00 Los Angeles Kings NHL 64 3 6 9 55 3 0 0 0 0
1999–00 Long Beach Ice Dogs IHL 6 0 3 3 2 — — — — —
1999–00 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 2 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2000–01 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 82 1 9 10 22 — — — — —
2001–02 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 77 8 9 17 28 — — — — —
2002–03 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 39 1 4 5 12 11 0 1 1 2
2003–04 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 11 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2003–04 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 36 3 3 6 53 8 1 1 2 4
IHL totals 231 53 57 110 144 17 5 4 9 14
NHL totals 429 19 43 62 184 16 0 1 1 2

Awards and records

NHL coaching record

Regular season Post season
Team Year G W L OTL Pts Finish G W L Result
PIT 2008–09 25 18 3 4 (99)[1] 2nd in Atlantic 24 16 8 Won Stanley Cup (DET)
PIT 2009–10 82 47 28 7 101 2nd in Atlantic 13 7 6 Lost in conference semifinals (MTL)
PIT 2010–11 82 49 25 8 106 2nd in Atlantic 7 3 4 Lost in conference quarterfinals (TBL)
PIT 2011–12 82 51 25 6 108 2nd in Atlantic 6 2 4 Lost in conference quarterfinals (PHI)
PIT 2012–13 48[2] 36 12 0 72 1st in Atlantic 15 8 7 Lost in conference finals (BOS)
PIT 2013–14 82 51 24 7 109 1st in Metropolitan 13 7 6 Lost in second round (NYR)
BUF 2015–16 82 35 36 11 81 7th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs
BUF 2016–17 82 33 37 12 78 8th in Atlantic — — — Missed playoffs
Total 565 320 190 55 695 78 43 35 7 playoff appearances
1 Stanley Cup title
  • 1 When Bylsma joined the Penguins after the 57th game of the season the team had earned 59 points. The team earned 40 points with Bylsma as head coach.
  • 2 Only 48 regular season games played due to lockout.

References

  1. ^ "Dan Bylsma's Career (HockeyDan)". Archived from the original on April 6, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2012.
  2. ^ Anderson, Shelly (April 14, 2009). "NHL Playoffs: Bylsma's success reads like fish story". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved June 19, 2009.
  3. ^ "Mighty Ducks sign Bylsma - UPI Archives". UPI. July 13, 2000. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  4. ^ "Bylsma joins AHL Ducks as assistant". TheAHL.com. September 28, 2004. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  5. ^ "Dan Bylsma Named Interim Head Coach of Pittsburgh Penguins". Pittsburgh Penguins. February 15, 2009. Archived from the original on June 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-19.
  6. ^ Starkey, Joe (April 12, 2009). "The book on Penguins coach Bylsma". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Archived from the original on April 13, 2009.
  7. ^ Molinari, Dave (April 28, 2009). "Bylsma named Penguins head coach; he's no longer 'interim'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  8. ^ [1], Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators Game Recap 4/22/13
  9. ^ "Pittsburgh Penguins - Winnipeg Jets - April 3rd, 2014".
  10. ^ https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=454144 [dead link‍]
  11. ^ Yerdon, Joe (May 29, 2015). "Dan Bylsma hired as coach of Buffalo Sabres". NHL.com. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  12. ^ "Reports: 'Livid' Sabres thought they had Babcock". Sportsnet. Rogers Communications. May 20, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  13. ^ "Dan Bylsma to Sabres: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction". Bleacher Report. Turner Broadcasting. May 28, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  14. ^ "Tim Murray, Dan Bylsma fired by Sabres". NHL.com. NHL Enterprise, L.P. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  15. ^ "Mike Harrington: Bylsma looking ahead but how much time does he have left?". The Buffalo News. Berkshire Hathaway. April 10, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  16. ^ "Report: Eichel won't sign extension if Bylsma remains coach". The Buffalo News. Berkshire Hathaway. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  17. ^ "Sabres release GM Tim Murray, coach Dan Bylsma". ESPN. April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  18. ^ Kujawa, Kyle (June 22, 2018). "Red Wings hire Dan Bylsma as assistant coach". Detroit Red Wings. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  19. ^ "Red Wings extend Blashill amid prolonged rebuild". ESPN.com. May 18, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  20. ^ "Former Penguins coach Dan Bylsma hired by Seattle Kraken as AHL assistant". triblive.com. August 10, 2021. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  21. ^ "A different Dan Bylsma becomes a head coach again with Kraken's AHL Coachella Valley". The Athletic. June 24, 2022.
  22. ^ "2023–24 AHL Standings". American Hockey League. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
  23. ^ "Bylsma hired as coach of Kraken, replaces Hakstol". NHL.com. May 28, 2024. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Jack Adams Award
2011 		Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
2008–2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins
2009–2014 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Buffalo Sabres
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Position created
 Head coach of the Coachella Valley Firebirds
2022–2024 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Seattle Kraken
2024–present 		Incumbent
Kembali kehalaman sebelumnya