The Ottawa Senators announced June 4 2024 the finalization of their 2024-2025 coaching staff, lead by Head Coach Travis Green: welcoming two new Assistant Coaches, Mike Yeo, and Nolan Baumgarter.
The announcement of Travis Green on (Insert Date Here) brought about speculation on who would be joining him on the bench – so who are Mike Yeo and Nolan Baumgarter?
Mike Yeo has extensive coaching experience, including a Stanley Cup Win with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009/2010. He started his coaching career in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barrie Scranton Penguins. He would spend six seasons with the club (2000-2006) before being promoted to the Pittsburgh Penguins ahead of the 2006-2007 season.
Yeo spent four seasons with the Penguins (2006-2010), winning one of his two Stanley Cup Finals games, before going back to the AHL. He was named Head Coach by the Houston Aeros, replacing Kevin Constantine ahead of the 2010-2011 season. In his lone season in Houston, Yeo coached a 40-26-10 season and brought Aeros to the second Calder Cup Finals, where they fell to the Binghamton Senators in six games.
The Minnesota Wild, who were an NHL Affiliate for the Houston Aeros, promoted Yeo to Head Coach ahead of the 2011-2012 season, where he spent 5 seasons (insert years here). He posted an impressive .559 Pt% with a 173-132-44 record and three playoff appearances and was let go during the 2015-2016 seasons after a 23-22-10 record.
He was then hired for Head Coach by the St. Louis Blues halfway through the 2016-2017 season replacing legendary coach Ken Hitchcock. In the final 33 games of the season, he had a 22-8-2 record, ended the season 3rd in the Central Division and had one playoff appearance. He missed the playoffs in his first full year with St. Louis (2017-2018), going 44-32-6 and was later let go after a 7-9-3 record in the first nineteen games of the 2018-219 season.
Yeo found himself back on the bench as an Assistant Coach for the first time since 2009, when he was hired to join Alain Vigneault staff with the Philadelphia Flyers ahead of the 2019-2020 season. He replaced Vigneault as Interim Head Coach during the 2021-2022 season after he went 8-10-4 in during the first 22 games of the season. Yeo ended that year with a 17-36-7 record, missing the playoffs
He was passed up as Head Coach for Philly ahead of the 2022-2023 season, headed west and joined Bruce Boudreau’s staff with the Vancouver Canucks. When Boudreau was let go, Yeo was kept on by Rick Tocchet, but stepped down from his position with the Canucks on May 28, 2024.
Nolan Baumgarter does not share the extensive NHL experience that his new colleague has, but he is an up-and-coming, well-respected coach within the NHL community. Originally a defenseman with Chicago Wolves – the Vancouver Canucks Affiliate at the time – in the AHL, he retired at the end of the 2011-2012 season, and was named an assistant coach of the team for the 2012-2013 season.
Baumgarter stayed with the Vancouver Canucks organization and joined the Utica Comets – their new affiliate AHL team – ahead of the 2013-2014 season as an assistant coach to Travis Green. He spent four seasons (year-year) with the Comets; making it to the playoffs twice, once including a trip to the Calder Cup Finals where they lost to the Manchester Monarchs.
Baumgarter was promoted and joined the Bench Boss in the NHL, following the promotion of Travis Green to Head Coach of the Vancouver Canucks. He stayed with them for parts of 5 seasons (year-year) before both him and Green were let go in December 2021.
His dismissal by the Canucks made him available to join the Team Canada Coaching Staff at the 2022 Olympics as an assistant coach. He made his return to the AHL ahead of the 2022-2023 season as part of the Manitoba Moose – a team he played on for seven seasons when the club was the AHL Affiliate for the Vancouver Canucks (2001-2011).
The Ottawa Senators also announced the return of Assistant Coaches Daniel Alfredsson and Ben Sexton, Goalie Coach Justin Peters, and Video Coach Mike King.
They are gearing up to right the ship and make their way back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-2017 season. Next stop: the NHL Entry Draft, taking place in Las Vegas, Friday June 28th and Saturday, June 29th.