With the Los Angeles Kings searching for a full-time head coach for next season, here are three AHL head coaches who have either been lightly tested or unproven at the NHL level, but deserve a chance.
Los Angeles Kings GM Ken Holland has shared that he is searching for a new head coach. D.J. Smith, who finished the season as the interim coach of the Kings, is considered a candidate to be named the full-time bench boss.
In Holland's exit interview on Friday, he revealed that he has a list of "five to eight" coaches of multiple degrees of experience, suggesting he's looking at all the options.
We've already looked at veteran coaches and NHL assistant coaches who could be on Holland's list to be the Kings' next bench boss.
Now, here are three coaches who have either been lightly tested in the NHL, or haven't been a head coach in the league yet - in no particular order. In fact, all these listed coaches are currently leading a team in the AHL.
Andrew Lord, Ontario Reign
When a franchise goes through the process of a coaching change, it's fairly standard for the organization to take a look at who is running the affiliate club in the American League.
In this case, for the Kings, that's Andrew Lord, head coach of the Ontario Reign. Lord has been leading the Reign to a great season thus far in the minors.
This is Lord's first season with Ontario, and he currently has his team in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. The Reign earned a first-round bye, thanks to finishing first in the Pacific Division.
They also finished the regular season fourth in the AHL with 99 points, the best campaign in franchise history since the Manchester Monarchs became the Ontario Reign.
This impressive season is all in the hands of coach Lord.
Manny Malhotra, Abbotsford Canucks
Manny Malhotra is the head coach of the Abbotsford Canucks, the AHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks. He's led the team for two seasons now and has really impressed in his first campaign.
In 2024-25, he guided Abbotsford to a Calder Cup championship, which is the first time Vancouver's American League affiliate won a championship since the Springfield Indians in 1991.
This year hasn't gone nearly as well for Abbotsford, which finished fourth-last in the AHL, but that's largely because the NHL club brought up some of the key players who helped the Calder Cup-winning team last season.
Malhotra has been a name that has floated around the NHL community as a coach who could soon get an opportunity behind an NHL bench, but as the leader of the coaching staff.
He's been behind an NHL bench before, as an assistant coach for the Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs from 2017-18 to 2023-24.
Pascal Vincent (James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports)Pascal Vincent, Laval Rocket
Unlike the other two names on this list, Pascal Vincent has experience as a head coach in the NHL.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were forced to pivot from their original hire for the 2023-24 season, Mike Babcock, and Vincent was tapped to fill in after serving as an associate coach for the organization.
He finished that season with a 27-43-12 record with a weak Blue Jackets team. Since then, he's moved on to be a head coach again in the AHL, a role he's spent multiple seasons in with the Manitoba Moose from 2016-17 to 2020-21.
In the past two seasons, he's been the coach of the Laval Rocket, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Vincent guided the Rocket to win the North Division this season, and they are in the second round of the playoffs.
Last season was even more impressive for Vincent and the Rocket as they topped the AHL for the 2024-25 regular season and made it to the Eastern Conference finals.
It could be time for Vincent to get a real chance at being a head coach in the NHL.
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