The number of Hartsburgs behind the Everett Silvertips’ bench just doubled.
The Western Hockey League team announced Thursday that Chris Hartsburg, 29, has been hired as an assistant coach. Hartsburg is the son of Craig Hartsburg, who was named the Silvertips’ head coach in June.
“Everything I’ve heard is that (Everett) is an organization that does things the right way,” Chris Hartsburg said. “Obviously (general manager) Doug (Soetaert) has done a great job of taking the organization from the early stages to where it is right now, a force to be reckoned with out West.”
Hartsburg replaces assistant coach Mark LeRose, who last week accepted a position with an American Hockey League team after two seasons in Everett.
A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Hartsburg began his coaching career last season as an assistant with the Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League. The Eagles posted a league-best 45-15-4 record and reached the CHL finals. It was, Soetaert said, “a very impressive start to his coaching career.”
Hartsburg’s responsibilities with Colorado included overseeing the team’s defensive systems, coordinating video sessions and player recruitment.
Hartsburg played for the Eagles from 2004-2008. He scored 120 points in 144 games and helped the Eagles win the Presidents Cup as CHL champions in 2005 and 2007.
Selected by the NHL’s New Jersey Devils in the seventh round of the 1999 draft, Hartsburg also played two seasons with the Albany River Rats, New Jersey’s affiliate in the American Hockey League.
The coaching bug first bit him during his playing days at Colorado College, where he helped lead the Tigers to three NCAA tournament appearances.
“I guess it really started when I was in college and became a bit of a mentor to many of the underclassmen,” Hartsburg said. “I was there for them at the rink and on campus and really tried to make them feel more comfortable with the older guys. Plus I have spent my whole life in a locker room and for me to not be involved in this great sport when my playing days ended would have been extremely difficult.”
The younger Hartsburg said he’s excited about the chance to coach with his father.
“This will be the first time in my life where I am going to be able to work alongside my dad,” he said. “He is intense and very passionate about the game and I am really going to enjoy taking in as much of it as I can. When we are at the rink, it will be a professional relationship.”
The new job not only reunites Hartsburg with his father, but also with his mother.
“Mom is probably pretty happy to have me around after 15 years of not living in the same city,” he said.
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