Bruins have reportedly interviewed Penguins assistant Mike Vellucci for head coaching job
BOSTON -- You can add another candidate to the Bruins' head coaching search. Boston has reportedly interviewed Pittsburgh Penguins assistant Mike Vellucci, according to Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
The 55-year-old Vellucci has done a little bit of everything over the last three decades, but has yet to get the chance to be an NHL head coach.
Vellucci got his start with the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors of the North America Hockey League, serving as head coach from 1994-99. He led the club to U.S. national championships in his first and last seasons with the team and a 241-82-27 record overall.
He moved on to coach the Plymouth Whalers of the OHL for 13 seasons, with a brief break in the middle of that tenure to focus on his duties as the team's general manager. He won OHL Coach of the Year honors in 2007, and both Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year in 2013. Vellucci led the Whalers to a 468-268-36-54 record during his time on the bench.
He left for the NHL in 2014, becoming an assistant GM and director of player development with the Carolina Hurricanes. Vellucci became head coach of Carolina's AHL team -- the Charlotte Checkers -- in 2017, leading the team to a Calder Cup in 2019.
He then joined the Pittsburgh organization as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in the AHL, before joining Mike Sullivan's Penguins coaching staff in 2020. Vellucci has been an assistant under Sullivan the last two seasons.
The Farmington, Michigan native was drafted by the Hartford Whalers in 1984, and played professionally in the IHL, AHL, and ECHL.
Vellucci joins a long list of candidates that the Bruins have reportedly interviewed to replace Bruce Cassidy, with Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff adding that this is believed to be Vellucci's second interview with Boston.
As usual, @JoeyMacHockey is all over it. Wanted to add: Believe this was Vellucci's second interview as part of the process.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 29, 2022
Sounds like the finalists for #NHLBruins are David Quinn, Jay Leach and Vellucci. Many believe Quinn is the front runner for the job. We'll see. https://t.co/0kIMUmACiR
Former New York Rangers and Boston University head coach David Quinn has recently been reported as the favorite to land the job, while former Bruins assistant coach and Providence Bruins head coach Jay Leach is also in the running.