The Hershey Bears have found their replacement for Nick Bootland after the assistant was hired as head coach of the Cleveland Monsters on June 30.
On Wednesday, the Bears announced Louis Robitaille as their new assistant coach. Robitaille, 44, joins head coach Derek King’s staff alongside assistant coach Brent Thompson and goaltending coach Juha Lehtola.
Robitaille spent last season in Russia coaching Omskie Krylia of the VHL, leading the team to a 38-20-3-1 record. (Bears forward Ivan Miroshnichenko played two seasons there from 2021 to 2023.)
“We are thrilled to welcome Louis back to the Hershey Bears,” Bryan Helmer, vice president of hockey operations, said in a statement. “Louis understands our championship culture and brings an impressive coaching background that will be valuable in helping our young players grow and develop in the American Hockey League. No doubt, Louis was a passionate player, and we know that passion will fit perfectly with our coaching staff.”
While the division of powers between the assistant coaches has not yet been revealed, Bootland formerly coached the Bears’ power play and forwards last season as Thompson led the team’s defense.
Robitaille, a minor-league enforcer like Spencer Carbery, was a member of the Bears’ 2006 Calder Cup championship team while playing under former head coach Bruce Boudreau. His hiring comes just over 20 years after he lifted the Cup for the first and only time.
“Hershey has always been a special place to me, and returning here feels like coming home,” Robitaille said. “This is a franchise that builds champions and has an incredible tradition. Personally, my son was born in Hershey, so my family and I are so excited to return and call Chocolatetown home. Thank you to Jason Fitzsimmons, Bryan Helmer, Derek King, and to the Bears and Washington Capitals for this incredible opportunity. The Capitals gave me my first chance as a professional hockey player back in 2003, and it is an honor that they are now giving me my first opportunity as a professional coach in North America. I look forward to joining the coaching staff in Hershey and getting to work chasing the Calder Cup.”
During his three seasons in Hershey as a player, Robitaille, a Montréal, Québec native, recorded an astounding 938 penalty minutes in 200 games, posting a career-high 350 PIMs during the 2007-08 season when he dropped the gloves 38 different times. Robitaille fought notable players like former Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love (four times), former Capitals defenseman Mike Weber, Dustin Byfuglien, Daniel Carcillo, and hockey commentator Paul Bissonnette, while wearing a Bears uniform.
Despite spending just three years in Hershey, Robitaille remains high in Hershey’s record books in the following categories:
- Career PIMs (938 PIMs, sixth-most)
- Career PIMs, postseason (124 PIMs, sixth-most)
- PIMs in a single season (350, third-most)
Robitaille, who suited up both as a forward and defenseman during his career, played two NHL games — both during the 2005-06 season with the Washington Capitals when Alex Ovechkin was a rookie. Robitaille averaged 4:42 of playing time in those games, posting a plus/minus of minus-1 and receiving five penalty minutes. His only NHL fight came against Serge Payer of the Florida Panthers.
Robitaille skated in 440 AHL games total with Portland, Hershey, Lowell, and Albany, recording 77 points (24g, 53a) and adding 1,759 penalty minutes.
Once Robitaille’s playing career ended — his AHL days ended in 2010-11 with the Albany Devils — he moved into coaching, where he was the GM/Head Coach of the QJHL’s Valleyfield Braves in 2011-12 and an assistant coach of the QMJHL’s Drummondville Voltigeurs.
Robitaille would go on to spend 14 seasons behind the bench in the QMJHL, serving as an assistant for five years (Drummondville, 2011-15 and Val d’Or, 2015-16) before getting his first head coaching gig with the Victoriaville Tigres from 2016 through 2020. He’d then lead the Gatineau Olympiques (2020-23) and Cape Breton Eagles (2023-25).
Robitaille posted a 310-193-42-21 record over nine seasons (.603 points percentage) as head coach, leading his clubs to a playoff appearance in every season of his QMJHL head coaching career (with the exception of the canceled 2019-20 season). He also reached the conference finals on three separate occasions.
During his most recent stint with Cape Breton, he led the Eagles to a 73-49-5-5 record over two seasons, and became one of just 24 coaches in QMJHL history to record 300 career wins. During his tenure with Gatineau, he was also the club’s general manager. He was a finalist for the league’s Maurice-Filion Trophy for general manager of the year during the 2022-23 season, leading the Olympiques to a 49-12-5-2 record and a West Division title.
Robitaille has also served as a coach on Team Canada, winning a gold medal as an assistant coach at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. He also received a bronze medal as assistant coach with Canada at the 2015 IIHF U18 World Championship. He was again an assistant coach with Team Canada Black at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge in 2017, and then was the head coach with Team Canada Red during the same tournament the following year. He was slated to be the head coach for Canada for the 2020 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, but the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
