Oshawa Generals coach Brad Malone. Photo Ian Goodall
Oshawa Generals coach Brad Malone, who took over behind the bench 30 games into the season (in a move that surprised fans and hockey insiders alike) and led the team to their second straight Ontario Hockey League final, is leaving the club to become an assistant coach with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Malone was hired as a development coach for the Generals just a few months after ending a 14-year playing career that included 217 games in the NHL with the Colorado Avalanche, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers.
With the club underachieving slightly at 18-10-2, the Generals fired coach Steve O’Rourke in early December and installed Malone in the job as interim coach.
Malone went 23-11-4 and took the team into the playoffs, where they beat Brampton and Brantford in six games each and swept Barrie to set up a rematch from last season with the powerhouse London Knights.
The Generals …