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Faced with a vacancy at the head coach position after Jay Leach jumped to the Seattle Kraken, the Providence Bruins made the logical choice: hiring one of Leach’s assistants!
The P-Bruins announced today that Ryan Mougenel has been named head coach of the team, the 13th head coach in the history of the franchise.
Mougenel was always the front-runner for the position, having spent the past three seasons as an assistant behind the Providence bench.
Prior to joining the P-Bruins, Mougenel spent parts of six seasons as an AHL assistant for the San Jose Barracuda, Worcester Sharks, and Hershey Bears.
While not at the AHL level, Mougenel does have some head coaching experience too: he was head coach of the ECHL’s Las Vegas Wranglers from 2009-2013.
Mougenel was a professional player prior to getting into coaching, peaking at the ECHL level — he got to play for a team with one of the best names in minor hockey, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies.
The Mougenel hire is a smart one for the Bruins, keeping things consistent. Given how successful the P-Bruins have been in recent years, why mess with what works?
The P-Bruins will kick off their season on October 16 (back in Providence this year).