It’s been a long time coming for new Providence Bruins head coach Trent Whitfield, who was named the 14th head coach in franchise history on Monday morning.
Whitfield spent the last 10 years as an assistant in Providence. He worked alongside Kevin Dean, Jay Leach, and most recently, Ryan Mougenel, but now it’s his turn to steer the ship.
“I was really excited,” Whitfield said to reporters gathered in Providence. “It’s been a long time. I’ve been coaching now for 12 years.
[I’ve] been really kind of just working on everything. Like everything, it’s a process.”
The first-time head coach has seen the good days in Providence, as the team has compiled a combined record of 396-203-48-28 over the last 10 seasons. It has not been all good on the development side as of late, but Whitfield made clear that the ultimate goal is to help players land in the NHL.
“That’s obviously our main goal. That’s always been our main goal is to get these players to the NHL,” Whitfield said. “Yeah, I mean, there’s always a little bit of give and take.
[Cam Neely and Don Sweeney] want to see us, they want us to win, obviously, but it’s more of a priority for us to get these players better on a daily basis.”
“I think, as anything, winning is real important for development as it creates a good mood, a good environment to be in every day,” he added. “It gets these kids here, wanting to come to the rink every day to get better and work, and they’ll do it together that way.”
The P-Bruins have created the winning environment, especially recently, but they have struggled to produce full-time NHL talent in that same stretch. Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov are two recent examples of successful AHL players that could not crack a full-time spot with the Bruins. The two combined for 23 NHL games in Boston before both departing for Colorado this summer.
Whitfield was quick to note that every player is different. “Some need to be pushed. Some players just need time, and you’ve got to work with them,” he said.
For their last eight head coaching hires, the Bruins have turned to an assistant on the Providence bench. Whitfield is familiar with the organization, even if there have been changes, but that familiarity will help ease him into his new role.
He is looking to continue the culture established in the Providence locker room.
“The one thing that we have here, and we’ve always had since I’ve been here, is we’ve always had good leadership. I want the players to take ownership of the room,” Whitfield said about the team’s culture. “Obviously, it starts with me and how I approach every day, but I want those guys to be an extension of me and I want them to take the initiative and run and take control of that room in themselves.”
Things will look a little different. Patrick Brown left for Germany, leaving the Providence Bruins without a captain. Alternate captain Michael Callahan also left, and Billy Sweezey is the only remaining player to wear a letter last season.
That may not change too much, though. Sweezey is a natural candidate to wear the captain’s ‘C,’ and the Bruins added AHL veterans Brendan Gaunce and Brian Halonen this summer to provide more experience to the room.
“The culture we’ve had in the room has always been really good. Really strong group of leaders that have shown the young kids how to come to work every night, right at puck drop when it counts. That’s attributed to all the great leadership that we’ve had here over the years, and that’s something we’re going to continue on moving forward.”
Whitfield wore the ‘C’ for six seasons during his playing days, with three of them coming in Providence. He played in 812 AHL games during his 15-year career.
On the ice, it will not look much different from what Marco Sturm has installed in Boston. Whitfield said the Providence staff will meet with Sturm before training camp and align their structure to avoid questions when players are called up.
“Everything we do structurally is aligned with the Boston Bruins. We play how they play.”
A new chapter is upon Providence, and the Bruins have a wave of young talent working their way up the prospect pool.
It is up to Trent Whitfield, who has been in the organization for a decade, to steer the current and future Providence Bruins in the right direction, while providing a pipeline to the Boston Bruins.
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