Keith McCambridge moves up from his first year as Hartford Wolf Pack‘s assistant coach to take on the role as the team’s 6th head coach in franchise history that began in 1997/1998.
The decently sized 6’2″ 205 lbs. former 11-year defenseman was originally a Calgary Flames‘ 8th round pick in the 1994 draft (#201 overall) playing 415 AHL regular season and playoff games for four different squads ending in 2002/2003.
For the 2003/2004 campaign he agreed to become Alaska Aces‘ player/assistant coach and named the new captain.
He stayed in that role for a few seasons with the ECHL club and ultimately help them with the 2006 Kelly Cup Championship.
Never a player to amass a ton of points, he was always a steady player and team leader with whomever he was playing.
He assume head coach status with the Aces next season through 2009 before accepting the assistant position with Manitoba Moose for 2009-2011 in the Winnipeg Jets‘ organization.
When the team moved their affiliate to St. John’s IceCaps, he was elevated to head coach through the next 5 years and even came back to Manitoba, when they resume play at the MTS Centre.
In his coaching career he was able to twice bring a team to the Finals.
The 43-year old should be able to return the Wolf Pack to postseason play, which they’ve missed by a wide margin in the past two years.