Hershey Bears name Scott Allen next head coach originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Hershey Bears named Scott Allen the 27th coach in franchise history on Thursday morning, ending the team’s search for a new bench boss.
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Allen, 55, was an assistant coach for the Bears for the last two seasons under Carbery. He has previous experience with the New York Islanders, Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes as an assistant coach in the NHL and in all, he’s coached 13 seasons in the AHL.
"We are thrilled to promote Scott Allen to head coach of the Hershey Bears," Bears VP hockey operations Bryan Helmer said in a statement. "He's done a great job over the past two years in Hershey, and his familiarity with our organization will make this a seamless transition. Scott is well-respected and has a long resume of invaluable experience, bringing a tireless work ethic to everything he does.”
Allen will replace Spencer Carbery, who recently left for a job as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carbery assembled a record of 104-50-9-8 in his time with the Bears and would have made the playoffs all three seasons, were it not for the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also the ECHL Coach of the Year for the South Carolina Stingrays in the 2013-14 season.
Allen began his coaching career in the 1996-97 season as an assistant coach for the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL, the team he had just finished playing for, and became the head coach during the 97-98 season. He has further head coaching experience for the San Antonio Rampage and the Portland Pirates of the AHL.
“We are pleased to promote Scott and name him as the next head coach of the Bears,” Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. “Scott brings many years of coaching experience, and in addition to his familiarity with our organization, we are confident our prospects will continue to grow and head in the right direction under his guidance.”
The Bears also hired Steve Bergin to be an assistant coach to serve under Allen. Bergin was the head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays during the 2019-20 season (when he won Coach of the Year) after serving as an assistant for the team for three seasons. In the 2020-21 season, he left the Stingrays to become the head coach at Sacred Heart University, but will return to the organization.
