By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter / X @RyanJBosworth
In a recent article by Jim McBride, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney confirmed that current Bruins assistant coaches Jay Leach and Chris Kelly, and goaltending coach Bob Essensa, would be remaining behind the Bruins bench, and newly hired head coach Marco Sturm would bring in an additional assistant coach.
McBride noted, “Sturm’s ability to work with and gain the trust of LA’s development staff also impressed Sweeney, who said he will be adding another assistant to holdovers Chris Kelly, Jay Leach, and Bob Essensa.”
Of the three holdovers behind the Bruins’ bench, Essensa is the longest tenured of them all. He’s been in Boston for almost 22 years, and as Ty Anderson mentioned on X, Marco Sturm will be the seventh head coach he’s worked under, beginning back when Mike Sullivan was Boston’s bench boss. As he worked closely with the Bruins’ goaltenders throughout the years, and developed successful ones at that, it makes sense Sweeney wanted to keep him on.
The next longest tenured assistant behind Essensa is Chris Kelly, who’s going into his fifth season behind the Bruins’ bench. He was originally brought on as a Player Development Coordinator in 2019 before getting promoted in 2021, joining Bruce Cassidy’s staff. He works closely with the powerplay unit, and despite the powerplay struggles during the 2024-25 season, Sweeney is keeping him on.
Jay Leach was hired as an assistant coach to work with Boston’s defense following the conclusion of the 2023-24 season, joining Jim Montgomery’s staff. He began his coaching career with the Bruins’ American Hockey League affiliate Providence Bruins, serving an assistant coach before getting promoted to head coach. He was a head coach in Providence for four seasons, before joining the Seattle Kraken as an assistant coach, until he left to join the Black and Gold once again.
It hasn’t been made clear who Sturm is going to bring in to join his staff, but it will likely be someone he worked closely with during his time with Team Germany or when he was head coaching the Los Angeles Kings’ AHL affiliate, Ontario Reign.
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