San Jose Sharks
BREAKING: Wingels, Sbisa Joining Sharks as Development Coaches
Tommy Wingels is coming back to the San Jose Sharks.
According to the Sharks website, Wingels, along with Luca Sbisa, are joining the Sharks as development coaches. San Jose Hockey Now caught this last night:
SJHN has confirmed with new director of player development Todd Marchant that both Wingels and Sbisa are indeed joining the Sharks.
Wingels and Sbisa will work alongside long-time Sharks development coach Mike Ricci, under Marchant.
Wingels, 34, retired in Jul. 2020 after an eight-year NHL career, mostly spent with the San Jose Sharks. The fan favorite winger was drafted by the Sharks in the sixth round of the 2008 NHL Draft, and also played for the Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, and Boston Bruins.
Wingels told SJHN after he retired, “Everything about my time in San Jose will be the pinnacle and the highlight of my career. It was such a special time.
“It’s something my wife and I talk about all the time. We miss it.”
Welcome home, Tommy!
Tommy Wingels on Why He’s Retiring Now, Black Lives Matters & More
Sbisa, 32, is coming from the Anaheim Ducks, where he served under Marchant as a development coach. A Philadelphia Flyers’ first-round pick in 2008, the quad-lingual defenseman skated for the Flyers, Ducks, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights, New York Islanders, Winnipeg Jets, and Nashville Predators over a 13-year NHL career.
Born in Ozieri, Italy but a native of Oberagari, Switzerland, Sbisa, who speaks English, French, Italian, and German fluently, played for Switzerland in the 2010 Olympics. He also represented Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup.
Hiring Wingels and Sbisa, alongside the recent hire of Marchant and Ricci’s continued presence, re-shapes the San Jose Sharks player development program. Last year, only John McCarthy held the title of Development Coach in the Sharks organization, though Ricci, who traveled with the Sharks as an NHL Development Coach, and the late Bryan Marchment were involved in that department.