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.