MacDonald served as the head coach of the Dubuque Fighting Saints for the past two seasons
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have named Kirk MacDonald as their next head coach, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas announced Wednesday.
MacDonald, a product of Victoria, B.C., spent the past two seasons as the head coach of the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL.
Prior to getting into coaching, MacDonald spent parts of seven years playing professional hockey where he made stops in the ECHL (Florida Everblades & Reading Royals) and AHL (Albany River Rats, Providence Bruins, Iowa Chops, and Houston Aeros) before hanging up his skates following the 2012-13 season.
Immediately jumping into coaching following his playing career, MacDonald got his start as an assistant coach with RPI (NCAA) which is where he suited up as a player from 2002-2007.
After a year with RPI, MacDonald made the jump to the ECHL to join the Reading Royals as an assistant coach. From 2014-2022, MacDonald would hold several positions with the Royals including assistant coach, head coach and director of hockey operations.
Leaving the Royals in 2022, MacDonald would spend two seasons with the Fighting Saints before joining the Penguins in his official role a few days ago.
As the Penguins usher in a new era with MacDonald at the helm, it will be exciting to see if they can build off their success from 2023-24.
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