Good things DO happen to good people. Nearly 20 years after being drafted by the Winnipeg Jets, and nearly 35 years after first lacing up a pair of skates, Grand Haven native Dan Bylsma made his deubt as an NHL “head coach” on Monday.

Bylsma was named the new interim head coach of the defending Eastern Conference Champion Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday night, after the team fired former head coach Michel Therrien.

I first met Dan shortly after I moved to West Michigan in January of 1996, when HE was first earning a regular spot in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings.  During his nine seasons with the Kings and Ducks, and in the years since, I have had a chance to interview Dan numerous times.  Whether he was the young kid just trying to make the team or the eventual experienced veteran leading his team to the Stanley Cup Finals, Dan was the same polite, friendly guy.   In fact, whether I met with him in the visitors locker room at the Joe Louis Arena, at his summer home in Grand Haven, in a rehab facility during the off-season, on a golf course at a charity event, or on the visitors bench at the Van Andel Arena, Dan has always been sincere and gracious with his words and time.

Under Bylsma, the AHL’s “baby Pens”, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, posted a 35-16-3 record this season, and are currently riding an eight game winning streak.   It should be no surprise that a role player and self described “grinder”, who was also an assistant captain in the NHL (and a captain in the IHL), would make it to the top league in the world as a HEAD COACH, less than five years after his retirement as a player. 

Dan will now have 25 games to prove he deserves a chance to return next season and get the Penguins head coaching job on a full time basis.  His new team currently sits at just 27-25-5 on the season and five points OUT of a playoff spot.  Granted, this certainly is NOT the same team, talent wise, that advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, before falling to the Red Wings.  However, with a roster that includes the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Peter Sykora, Marc-Andre Fleury and Sergei Gonchar, there is enough talent for Dan to get the Pens into the playoffs, and, as we all know, anything can happen from there.  Should he do that, Bylsma will be back next year, and hopefully for many more to come.

Good things DO happen to good people… and Dan Bylsma is certainly, good people.

Larry Figurski

WOOD-TV News/Sports Anchor and Reporter

Grand Rapids Griffins Color Analyst