Former forward and head coach of Washington Capitals Adam Oates to help Hershey Bears in AHL
Former Canadian professional ice hockey player and currently a coach, Adam Oates will help Hershey Bears of American Hockey League (AHL) as long as there is an National Hockey League (NHL) lockout. Bears are the affiliates of Washington Capitals, who Adam
Oates serves as head coach.
Washington Capitals, who play in the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference, appointed the former forward as their head coach few months back, on 26th June 2012, when he succeeded fellow former Washington Capitals and Canada’s centre Dale
Hunter.
But since there is no NHL hockey for now, Oates has been given responsibility of working in the minor league where he would be working with former Canadian player and current coach of Hershey Bears, Mark French.
General Manager of the Washington Capitals, George McPhee released a statement in which he revealed that both Oates and French would be working with the AHL team and both will be involved in the operation, as he said while talking to the team’s blog Dump
‘n Chase,
“Mark French and Adam Oates will be co-coaches and they will work together and both will be very involved with the day-to-day [operations] of the team”.
McPhee is looking towards a positive change in the set up of the organisation and the team as Capitals were not able to make it to finals of their conference in any of the last five years, losing in Semifinals three and times and Quarterfinals twice. They
are also expecting team to be a little more attacking under Oates, as it was not much in Hunter’s time.
Also the Vice-President and alternate governor of the team, 54-year-old McPhee also said that they are hoping that environment of the team will get better and will also hope that everything remains perfect as he added,
“We obviously think the learning environment will be that much improved. You don’t have many opportunities to do this in our business. We’re looking for the silver lining and trying to make the best of the situation.”
50-year-old Oates knows the organisation well as he himself has spent 6 years at the Capitals’ team from 1996-2002 as he played 387 games for them.
Tags: