Mike Eastwood has been named as an assistant coach for the Hershey Bears, the team announced Monday.
Eastwood, 51, most recently spent three seasons with Ottawa in the Ontario Hockey League, serving as an assistant coach in 2014-15 and as associate coach from 2015-17.
An Ottawa native, Eastwood played 783 games over an NHL career that spanned 13 seasons from 1991 to 2004, collecting 87 goals and 149 assists for 236 points. Eastwood was drafted by Toronto in 1987 and played for the Maple Leafs, Winnipeg/Phoenix, the N.Y. Rangers, St. Louis, Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Eastwood’s most productive NHL season came in 1999-2000, when he scored a career-high 19 goals for a Blues team that won the President’s Trophy. His teammates that season included new Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden and Bears vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer.
Eastwood played two seasons in the AHL (1991-93) with the St. John’s Maple Leafs, recording 42 goals and 60 assists in 121 games. He helped the Leafs reach the Calder Cup Finals in 1992, posting 19 points in 16 playoff games.
