Assistant Coach Spotlight: Rich Clune

New assistant coach Rich Clune will be an eye in the sky during games, and also have a hand in many different things.

“I think my role is going to be interesting,” Clune said. “I think it will be a combination of player development and coaching.”

The 38-year-old is not far removed from his own playing career across the NHL, AHL and ECHL, which lasted for over 15 years. The last seven were spent in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, where he served as an assistant captain with the Marlies from 2015-20 – winning the Calder Cup in 2018 – and captain from ’20-22 before retirement.

Clune then began his coaching career with Toronto, spending one season as a player development coach. He immediately began working with amateur players in the NCAA and junior levels across Canada.

“I think when I was a young player, I benefited from working with skill coaches, retired players, people that didn't play in pro hockey but have studied the game. So, I really wanted to get into that,” Clune said. “I'm really excited to work with (Penguins director of player development) Tom Kostopoulos and his staff, and just bridge any kind of gap or link the coaching staff with the development department.”

That player development role led to Clune becoming an assistant coach with the Marlies the following season.

“I feel like having that foundation (in development) and that experience allowed me to step into coaching with maybe a different lens,” Clune said. “I'm continuously drawing back to my time doing that.”

Clune then joined the Penguins after spending one season as an assistant coach with the Anaheim Ducks, saying that everything aligned when it came to this opportunity.

“Coming into the organization, from the minute I joined, everyone who I've interacted with has just welcomed me and (my wife Isabel) with open arms, and it's really made it easy to want to get going and contribute,” said Clune, who had a lot of familiarity with Kyle Dubas and Jason Spezza from their time together in Toronto.

“So, I'm really, really lucky and grateful. The Pittsburgh Penguins are one of the most storied organizations in hockey history. I'm pretty thankful.”

Clune’s mindset coming into this role is to add immediate value where he can, while also trying to learn and get better.

“You look at the staff that has been put in place here with Dan Muse and Todd Nelson and Mike Stothers, and then having Nick Bonino just retired, I know what that feels like,” Clune said. “There’s tons of people in the organization... Jason's here on a daily basis... so, I'm in a position to learn myself. Obviously, you know all the players that are here from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, all those guys, Erik Karlsson... obviously excited to work with them... then the upcoming prospects and everyone down the roster.”