OTTAWA - The Ottawa Senators announced today that the team has promoted David Bell to head coach of the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Belleville Senators.
Bell, 46, was appointed B-Sens' interim head coach on Feb. 3 and led the team to a record of 14-9-3-3 over the 2022-23 regular season' final 29 contests. Having recently concluded his fourth season in Belleville, the former Ottawa 67's defenceman will enter his 20th season behind a team's bench as one of an assistant, associate or head coach when the 2023-24 season begins this fall.
"David is very deserving of this promotion," said Senators general manager Pierre Dorion. "His transition from assistant to the interim head coaching postion this past winter was seamless. We've witnessed good synergy between coaching staffs at the AHL and NHL levels which continues to be vital for an organization seeking to take the next step in both leagues."
"The team's performance over the last two-and-a-half months of the season buoyed David's candidacy tremendously," said Belleville Senators general manager Ryan Bowness. "The players' individual preparation, commitment to detail and collective determination in pursuit of a playoff spot through the last week of the season have us confident that David is the right person for this role."
Alongside assistant coach Ben Sexton, goaltending coach Justin Peters and video coach Frederic Lemay, Bell will serve as a head coach for the third time in his coaching career after having done so previously with the Central Hockey League's Quad City Mallards (2011-12) and with the Ontario Hockey League's Niagara IceDogs (2016-17).
