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Hershey Bears
AHL Affiliate
2009 Calder Cup Champions
950 W. Hersheypark Drive
Hershey, PA 17033
Phone: (717) 534-3380
www.hersheybears.com
Home Arena: GIANT Center (10,500)
Calder Cup Championships: 10 (most recent: 2009)
Affiliation: 5th year, became Washington’s primary affiliate on April
26, 2005
Schedule: www.hersheybears.com/game_day/schedule.php
Statistics: stats.theahl.com/stats/statdisplay.
php?type=skaters&season_id=
Roster: stats.theahl.com/stats/roster.php?step=&sub=&season_
id=30&team_id=319
South Carolina Stingrays
ECHL Affiliate
2009 Kelly Cup Champions
North Charleston Coliseum
3300 West Montague Avenue, Suite A-200
North Charleston, SC 29418
Phone: 843.744.2248
www.stingrayshockey.com
Home Arena: North Charleston Coliseum
2009 Playoffs: Won Kelly Cup
Affiliation History: 6th year, became Washington’s ECHL affiliate on
Aug. 11, 2004
Schedule: www.echl.com
Statistics: www.echl.com
Roster: www.echl.com
Mark French
Head Coach
Mark French is in his first season as the head coach of the Hershey Bears,
earning a promotion to the top job after serving as an assistant coach
for two seasons. He helped lead Hershey, with current Capitals assistant
coach Bob Woods, to the 2009 Calder Cup championship.
French previously was the head coach and director of hockey operations for the Wichita
Thunder (Central Hockey League) from 2005-07. He was responsible for player recruitment and
contract negotiations while with the Thunder and managed the team’s operating budget.
French also served as the assistant coach of the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies of the ECHL
during the 2004-05 season when the Bullies posted a 42-21-9 record. Prior to joining the
professional ranks, French was the head coach at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada from
2002-04. French served as assistant coach and assistant general manager of the Canadian
Hockey League’s North Bay Centennials from 1999-2002.
A native of Milton, Ontario, French played college hockey at Brock University in St.
Catherines, Ontario, serving as captain for three years. He received the prestigious “212
Degrees” award all four seasons, presented to the athlete who demonstrates leadership,
commitment and excellence on the ice.
Troy Mann
Assistant Coach
Troy Mann is in his first season as an assistant coach with the Hershey
Bears, joining the Washington organization after spending the past four
seasons with the ECHL’s Columbia Inferno. Mann led the Inferno to the
South Division final in 2007-08, his second of three years as head coach and director of
hockey operations. In 2008-09, while the team suspended operations during the construction
of a new arena, Mann served as associate head coach of the ECHL’s Charlotte Checkers.
Mann’s coaching career began as a player/assistant coach in the United Hockey League before
he became an assistant coach and interim head coach of the Central Hockey League’s Topeka
Tarantulas in 2004-05.
Mann’s 11-year professional playing career included a stint with the Mississippi SeaWolves in
the ECHL, where he was the first player to sign with the franchise in 1996 and won the Kelly
Cup while playing for Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau in 1999. In all he played for
four teams in the ECHL as well as teams in the Central Hockey League, United Hockey League
and in Sweden.
Mann is a 1993 graduate of the University of Toronto, where he played for the Varsity Blues for
four years.
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