The Hartford Wolf Pack's coaching staff has been finalized for the upcoming season, and the group stepping behind the bench will bring veteran experience and a new perspective that is sorely needed. Jay Leach received a ton of headlines when he was announced as the team's newest head coach, but there's also reason to be very excited about the team's newest Associate Coach, Bob Woods.
Woods knows what it takes to win
The Wolf Pack have only won the Calder Cup once as an organization, and that last happened during the 1999-00 season. Bob Woods is one of the most unique figures in AHL history as he is one of just three people to win a Calder Cup as a player, as an assistant coach, and as a head coach. He won with the Hershey Bears as a player in 1997, nearly a decade later as an assistant in 2006, and then three years later as the main man in charge.
That type of experience is quite unique, and will be a welcome addition to a Hartford Wolf Pack team that needs to turn into a place where top players can actual develop and then go on to have meaningful success in the NHL. To this point there have been some interesting depth pieces who've made the jump, but it has been a long time since there's been a player who has had an elite season in Hartford and then made a sizable impact with the Rangers.
Woods most recently worked for the Seattle Kraken, and has 14 years of NHL experience which includes stops in Washington, Anaheim, Buffalo, and Minnesota. Like Leach, Woods was a defenseman who spent a great deal of time in the AHL and ECHL, and his overall resume makes him a great fit.
John Stevens will bring a fresh perspective for the forwards
Stevens also has a Calder Cup ring, and the 32 year old from Massachusetts was a talented center who scored 26 goals and added 80 assists for 106 points in 138 games at Northeastern University. He also logged 389 games in the AHL across nine season, and finished with 65 goals, 98 assists, and 163 points.
He is a year removed from playing for the Abbotsford Canucks, and he spent the 2025-26 season playing over on the Finnish Liiga in which he scored 10 goals and added 13 helpers for 23 points in 48 games. Stevens jumping into coaching so quickly after retiring is an interesting development, but there's something to be said about having a player who just spent time in the league being there to help players find their way.
Although he didn't have the longest career, he knows what it takes to win, he knows how to grind it out, and that is valuable experience to have as the Rangers try and have the next generation of players mature in the minors. This is very important when you consider names like Liam Greentree, Nathan Aspinall, and Cole Beaudoin could be on the roster. While all have clear offensive talent, learning to make the jump from the CHL to AHL is an important lesson to learn, and that's something Stevens' experience will be an asset to the organization.
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