The slumping Belleville Senators have fired their head coach, promoting assistant Andrew Campbell to the interim role.
With the Belleville Senators losing eight of their last nine games, their parent club, the Ottawa Senators decided to make a change on Wednesday morning. The Sens announced the firing of their AHL head coach, David Bell, replacing him with assistant coach Andrew Campbell, who takes over on an interim basis.
“We are constantly evaluating ways to improve our organization and felt the timing was right for a fresh voice and approach in Belleville,” Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios said in a club statement. “We thank David for his time and commitment in Belleville and the Bay of Quinte and wish him well in his next opportunity.”
Bell took over as the interim head coach in February of 2023 with the firing of Troy Mann. Bell was then officially named the full-time head coach a few months later.
After Bell's first full season on the job, Staios and Belleville GM Ryan Bowness gave Bell a two-year extension in 2024. However, Bowness was replaced as GM by Matt Turek last May, and that change in leadership may also have been a factor in Wednesday's decision.
Assistant coach Stefan Legein and goaltending coach Paul Gibson will remain on the coaching staff under Campbell.
Life as the head coach of a feeder team is never easy. Ottawa's organizational depth is already thin, and due to NHL injuries, Belleville was frequently without the services of forwards like Stephen Halliday and Olle Lycksell and lost defenseman Donovan Sebrango, who was headed back to the AHL until he was claimed off waivers by the Florida Panthers. Those are all players who would be stars in Belleville.
Campbell, 37, has been an assistant coach with Belleville since 2024. Prior to that, he served as an assistant coach with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the team Michael Andlauer used to own, and where both Staios and Turek used to be general managers. So it's possible Campbell's hiring was part of a succession plan that was expedited by the team's recent skid.
But with only four years in the coaching game, all as an assistant, it's very possible the Senators may look for someone who's run a bench before. But a lot will depend on what they see during Campbell's on-the-job audition.
The B-Sens are in fifth place in the AHL’s North Division, with a record of 11-14-3 after 28 games. They'll be in Rochester this Friday to take on the Amerks.
Steve Warne
The Hockey News