Petersen named Amerks assistant coach

Photo: John Saraya

Rochester Americans general manager Randy Sexton announced Thursday that the team has hired Toby Petersen to serve as an assistant coach on the staff of head coach Chris Taylor.

Petersen joins the Amerks after spending the last two seasons (2015-17) as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League. During his first season in Cleveland in 2015-16, Petersen guided the team to a 43-28-5 record in the regular season before helping the Monsters capture their first Calder Cup championship in franchise history. Cleveland went 15-2 during the postseason, which included series sweeps over Rockford, Ontario and Hershey as the Monsters finished with a 7-1 record on home ice in the playoffs.

A native of Minneapolis, Minn., Petersen made his pro coaching debut as an assistant coach with the Springfield Falcons in 2014-15 following a 14-year playing career as a forward. Originally a ninth-round selection of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, Petersen recorded 81 points (33 goals, 48 assists) in 398 career NHL games with Pittsburgh, Edmonton and Dallas while also adding 374 points (148 goals, 226 assists) in 550 AHL appearances for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Edmonton, Iowa and Texas. He retired from playing after winning a Calder Cup with the Texas Stars in the 2013-14 campaign.

Prior to turning pro, Petersen played four years at Colorado College, where he was named to the All-WCHA Rookie Team as a freshman. He also represented the United States at several international events, including winning a silver medal at the 1997 World Junior Championship.