Mark French

Career

Prior to his assistant coaching duties with Hershey, he was the head coach at Wilfrid Laurier University from 2002-2004 and was head coach and director of hockey operations for the Wichita Thunder (CHL) from 2005-2007. French also coached in the ECHL with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies during the 2004-2005 season, walking the bench as assistant coach as the Bullies posted a 42-21-9 record. He became an assistant with the Bears in January 2008, and was named the franchise"s 23rd head coach in 2009 following the promotion of Bob Woods to Washington.

In June 2013, French took the head coaching position for KHL Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League.

French left Medveščak Zagreb after one season for the of the Western Hockey League in June 2014.

Achievements

• A native of Milton, Ontario, French played college hockey at Brock University in Saint Catharines, Ontario, serving as captain for three years there and received the prestigious “212 Degrees” annual award all four seasons, presented to the athlete who demonstrates leadership, commitment and excellence on the ice. In his first season, French guided the Bears to an AHL record 60 wins and the teams eleventh Calder Cup. They have two children, Ellie (2) and William, who was born during the 2009 Calder Cup winning season.