The Pittsburgh Penguins have selected a replacement for their coaching down in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
Here is some surface level information about him
The 40 year-old MacDonald joins the Penguins organization with over 10 years of coaching experience, most recently as the head coach of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 2022-24. This past season, MacDonald led Dubuque to the best record in the USHL’s Eastern Conference, going 41-13-8 in the regular season before capturing the USHL Eastern Conference championship in the Clark Cup playoffs.
MacDonald spent eight seasons with the Reading Royals of the ECHL in various roles including assistant coach, head coach and director of hockey operations
It was the time period with Reading that stood out to me and why I have some deeper information on the WBS Penguins new coach. The years lined up with the same time my former high school teammate/linemate Derek Whitmore played for him. It gave me a great excuse to reach out to him and catch up. Ever since I’ve known Derek he has lived and breathed hockey and it ultimately earned him time with the Buffalo Sabres. In his time with the Sabres he finished with a CF% of 68.42 and an xGF% of 62.94.
Derek played one year for the Reading Royals in 2017-18 which coincided with the time Kirk MacDonald was the head coach. I called Derek for his thoughts about playing for Kirk MacDonald. What I got was a look into the human side of MacDonald.
Derek was near the end of his hockey playing career when he showed up in Reading. He was in his 34-year-old season coming of his time in Europe in both Germany and Austria. He was brought in as their veteran leader and captain. You could say it was akin to a Reggie Dunlop role. It was during this time Derek suffered a back injury which was, as he described, career ending. Furthermore, Derek was the player on the team who had the biggest cap hit and was now unable to play. Not an ideal situation for the team.
Now MacDonald had a few options he could have gone with. He could try and trade a player who carried a big cap hit and unable to play (not likely) or he could put him on waivers to shed the money issue and leave Derek hanging. Something less than ideal for a player with a young family. MacDonald did the third thing. He invited Derek to join his coaching staff allowing him to still earn his full playing salary while also freeing up cap space for the team to compete. This is the kind of thing that resonates and leaves a lasting positive impression on someone, which it absolutely did with Derek. There’s no guarantee another coach in the same position would make that kind of effort to do right by somebody. This is an example that shows the human side people aren’t always privy to.
I don’t often speak to the human side of professional hockey for a very specific reason. That is because I’m not in the room and I don’t really want to be in the speculation business on those types of things. With Derek, there’s a direct firsthand account I’m able to pass along and share.
Derek spoke to MacDonald’s success in building positive relationships with both players and coaches and his ability to connect with others, a must in the modern game. Additionally, MacDonald is the type of coach to empower his assistants in their roles and let them do their jobs which goes a long way in building a productive and cohesive coaching staff. It also frees up the head coach to monitor and keep tabs on how everything is going. A head coach who is trying to do everything is more prone to missing things because they might be too far in the weeds.
After Reading MacDonald became the head coach in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints. This provided him an opportunity to work with prospect aged players. He took the Saints to the USHL final this past season which provides some evidence he was successful both on and off the ice working with younger players
MacDonald has a professional hockey past playing in both the AHL and the ECHL where he won a championship with the Reading Royals. Being on the playing end of things gives him insight into what it is like being a player and it sounds like he has put that to good use in how he interacts with current players.
Given where the Penguins are heading in their overall arch as a franchise having a coach with empathy, communication skills, and an ability to work with younger players feels like the right kind of coach to be bringing to the Baby Penguins and into the organization.
Big thanks to the Penguins for giving me a reason to catch up with an old friend.
Thanks for reading!
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