Condors add AHL Hall of Famer Anderson to coaching staff

Photo: China Wong/AHL

The Bakersfield Condors announced today that American Hockey League Hall of Fame coach John Anderson has been named an assistant coach for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.

Anderson will be behind the bench tonight as the Condors host the Abbotsford Canucks.

Anderson, 64, spent 14 seasons as head coach of the Chicago Wolves, including 10 as members of the AHL (2001-08, 2013-16). During those 10 seasons, Anderson won three division titles, reached three Calder Cup Finals and won the league championship in 2002 and 2008. His 424 victories rank fifth among head coaches in league history.

Anderson also won two International Hockey League Turner Cup championships with the Wolves in 1998 and 2000.

A Toronto native, Anderson was drafted by his hometown Maple Leafs in 1977 and went on to skate in more than 800 games in the NHL with Toronto, Quebec and Hartford. In 1991-92, Anderson served as a player/assistant coach with the AHL’s New Haven Nighthawks and collected 95 points in 68 games; he was voted a First Team AHL All-Star, the winner of the Les Cunningham Award as the league’s most valuable player, and the recipient of the Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award for sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey.

Anderson has also served as an assistant coach in the NHL with the Phoenix Coyotes (2011-13) and Minnesota Wild (2016-18), and spent two seasons as head coach of the Atlanta Thrashers from 2008-10.