Spott named Marlies’ coach

Dave Nonis, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Wednesday the appointment of Steve Spott as head coach of the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies.

Spott, 45, had spent the previous 12 seasons working for the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers. During his tenure with the Rangers, the Toronto native spent his first seven seasons as an assistant coach under current New Jersey Devils bench boss Peter DeBoer, during which the team won the Memorial Cup in 2002-03.

Spott was appointed head coach in Kitchener prior to the 2008-09 season, leading the club to four playoff appearances and a regular-season record of 187-121-32. He also served as both an assistant coach (2010) and head coach (2013) of Canada’s under-20 team at the World Junior Hockey Championships. In 2011 he was the head coach of Team Canada’s under-18 team that won gold at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament held in Breclav, Czech Republic.

A graduate of Colgate University, Spott registered 148 points (75 goals, 73 assists) and 213 penalty minutes over his four-year college career. He would go on to play 20 games for the Newmarket Saints of the American Hockey League during the 1990-91 season.

Spott replaces Dallas Eakins, who left the Marlies to become head coach of the Edmonton Oilers last month.