Penguins Promote Jason Spezza, Amanda Kessel
The Penguins announced a baker’s dozen hockey operations staff additions and promotions Monday, most notably the promotions of Jason Spezza and Amanda Kessel from their previous roles. Spezza will now serve as the general manager of Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, in addition to his existing assistant GM duties, while Kessel has been named their manager of minor league operations and the AGM of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton under Spezza.
Both are new faces to the managerial world but are embarking on their off-ice journeys after lengthy playing careers. Spezza has spent the last five years working with Penguins GM Kyle Dubas in some capacity, spending his final three seasons as a player with the Maple Leafs with Dubas as GM. He was named a special assistant to Dubas immediately upon retiring in 2022, and then he was followed to Pittsburgh in the 2023 offseason.
Last year was the 32-year-old Kessel’s first in an NHL front office, serving as a special assistant to Dubas in his first year with the Penguins. The younger sister of former Penguins forward Phil Kessel had a decorated playing career, winning four Women’s World Championships and one Olympic gold medal with Team USA over an 11-year run as a national team fixture. She also had a spectacular collegiate career with the University of Minnesota, where she ranks second in women’s program scoring history with 248 points in 136 games.
As GM of WBS, Spezza replaces Penguins director of amateur scouting Erik Heasley, who had held the role for parts of the last four seasons. Heasley will remain in his amateur scouting role, but will have a fair amount of his overall workload taken off his plate by Kessel and Spezza.
Snapshots: Gauthier, Kessel, Lindberg
Philadelphia Flyers prospect Cutter Gauthier made some headlines earlier this summer when he was absent for the Flyers’ development camp shortly after the 2023 NHL draft. Gauthier offered some explanation for his choice today, telling NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman that he had played “a little bit too much hockey” after his college season and representing the United States at the IIHF Men’s World Championships. Gauthier added that he “wanted time with the family,” and although it wasn’t Flyers GM Danny Briere’s “favorite thing” Gauthier felt it was the right option.
Although Gauthier is no longer the Flyers’ number-one prospect due to the team drafting Matvei Michkov seventh overall at this year’s draft, Gauthier remains their best prospect who has a chance to play center. His absence at development camp shouldn’t be cause for any Flyers fan to worry that Gauthier will play out his college eligibility and hit free agency as other players, such as Adam Fox, have in the past, though. Gauthier told Kimelman that it’s “definitely the plan” to play for Philadelphia at the end of Boston College’s upcoming season, and after scoring 16 goals and 37 points last season Gauthier is expected to be one of college hockey’s top players on a Boston team that is set to see significant talent arrive in the fall, such as top 2023 picks Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, and Gabe Perreault.
Some other notes from across the NHL:
- Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is no stranger to working with elite women’s hockey players, such as Hall of Famer Hayley Wickenheiser who worked as senior director of player development with the Toronto Maple Leafs during Dubas’ tenure there. Now, Dubas is adding another top name to his staff in Pittsburgh. Amanda Kessel, an Olympic gold medalist and the sister of former Penguins star Phil Kessel has reportedly been promoted to a role titled “special assistant to president of hockey operations and general manager” according to Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Although it’s unclear what her exact responsibilities will be this reported promotion means Kessel will have a hand in shaping the Penguins’ future as they chase one last Stanley Cup with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang.
- Former Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Tobias Lindberg, once a star OHLer with the Oshawa Generals, has signed a contract in Germany with the Crimmitschau Ice Pirates. The 28-year-old 2013 fourth-round pick has played the last two seasons in Czechia, but struggled to produce. He’s been most productive in the past at the HockeyAllsvenskan level in his native Sweden, so perhaps this move to the second tier of German hockey will see him score at a rate closer to what he posted in his junior hockey days.
USA Hockey Announces 2022 Women’s World Championship Roster
Right now, the 2022 Men’s World Junior Championships is sitting centerstage when it comes to international hockey, however soon after the tournament ends, that attention will turn to the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championships, which are set to run from August 25th through September 4th. Hosting the tournament will be the cities of Herning and Frederikshavn, Denmark.
In advance of the tournament, USA Hockey announced its 23 woman roster earlier today, which includes a large contingent of familiar faces and several exciting stars, including 18 members of the 2022 USA Olympic team which took home Silver. Talking about his team, head coach John Wroblewski said in a release:
“I am excited to officially have our team as we continue to prepare for women’s worlds. As a staff, we are confident in the skill and grit of this team and are excited to begin our journey to achieve our goals in Denmark.”
Below is the full United States roster:
Goalie:
Defense:
Forward:
Bilka, Guilday, and Heise will also participate on the United States Women’s National Team for the first time in their careers. On the other hand, this will be Coyne Schofield’s ninth appearance at the world championships and Knight’s twelfth – a USA Hockey record.
Amanda Kessel Joins Penguins Executive Management Program
The Pittsburgh Penguins have established a new Executive Management Program, designed to help candidates develop and work alongside the partnership, marketing, communication, broadcast, and hockey operations departments. The first participant will be three-time Olympic medalist and member of the U.S. women’s national team Amanda Kessel. She released the following statement:
I am excited to learn from one of the best franchises in professional sports. The Penguins presented me with the opportunity to use my experience and love for hockey in a whole new capacity and I look forward to making the most of this program.
Kessel, 30, is not completely closing the book on her playing career, telling Emily Kaplan of ESPN that she is just excited to begin taking the next steps in her hockey journey. She recently competed for the U.S. at the 2022 Olympics, scoring eight points in seven games to take home the silver medal. An incredible offensive talent, Kessel once racked up 101 points in 46 games for the University of Minnesota, winning the Patty Kazmaier Award as the top collegiate player in the country. She is currently a member of the PWHPA.
Obviously, she also already has ties to the Penguins organization or at least a shared history with some of their recent alumni. Phil Kessel, her brother, won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the organization just a few years ago. She also played at the famed Shattuck St. Mary’s prep academy just a few years after Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby.
The new program for the Penguins will focus on women and minority athletes, and provide a one-year opportunity to work alongside all of the different departments in order to expose them to the entire sports business. That includes graduate school and community service components. In a statement, Penguins CEO David Morehouse also explained that it gives “unprecedented access” to attain permanent front office positions.