PANTHERS COACHING STAFF
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 PETER DeBOER
Head Coach
Peter DeBoer enters his second year as the Panthers head coach as he was hired to the position on June 13th, 2009. DeBoer, 40, guided the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to a 53-11-0-4 mark last season, claiming the OHL Championship, before falling to the Spokane Chiefs in the Memorial Cup finals. DeBoer’s Kitchener club held the No. 1 spot as the top junior team in Canada for 15 weeks. During his seven year tenure with Kitchener, DeBoer earned 297 wins with a .676 winning percentage, while guiding his club to the 2003 Memorial Cup title. This past season, DeBoer earned his 500th OHL win, joining only five other OHL coaches to reach this milestone. Throughout his tenure in junior hockey he has coached a number of current NHL players as well as Panthers C Stephen Weiss (Plymouth), LW Gregory Campbell (Kitchener) and Panthers prospect LW Mike Duco (Kitchener). The Dunnville, Ontario native has amassed 539 OHL wins while coaching the Detroit Whalers (1995-97), Plymouth Whalers (1997-2001) and the Kitchener Rangers (2001-08), earning OHL Coach of the Year honors in 1999 and 2000. DeBoer was also named the 2000 Canadian Hockey League Coach of the Year. He was also a member of the coaching staff on Team Canada’s 2005 Gold Medal winning junior team. DeBoer, a 12th round selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1988, played two seasons professionally with the Milwaukee Admirals (IHL). He holds a law degree from the University of Windsor/University of Detroit. Peter and his wife Susan, have one daughter Abigail and two sons Jack and Matthew. |
 MIKE KITCHEN
Assistant Coach
Mike Kitchen enters his third year as the assistant coach of the Florida Panthers after being named to the position on August 13, 2007. Prior to joining the Panthers organization, Kitchen, had been a member of the St. Louis Blues organization since September 1, 1998. In his eight seasons with the Blues, Kitchen served as assistant coach from 1998-2004. He was named head coach of St. Louis on February 24, 2004 and most recently served as part of the Blues front office staff. During his tenure as assistant coach, the Blues earned their first President’s Trophy during the 1999-2000 season recording a franchise-high 114 points. The Blues made the playoffs every season he assisted behind the bench, reaching the Western Conference Finals during the 2000-01 season. Prior to joining the Blues, Kitchen spent nine seasons as an assistant coach for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs made the playoffs in five of his nine seasons in Toronto, reaching the Conference Finals on two occasions in 1992-93 and 1993-94. Kitchen played eight seasons in the NHL as a defenseman for the Colorado Rockies and New Jersey Devils. He appeared in 474 regular season games recording 12 goals, 62 assists and 370 penalty minutes. He was originally drafted by the Kansas City Scouts as the 38th overall pick in the 1976 NHL Entry Draft. |
 JIM HULTON
Assistant Coach
Jim Hulton enters his second season as Panthers assistant coach after spending the 2007-08 season as the Co-Coach/Assistant General Manager for the Mississauga St. Michael’s Majors of the Ontario Hockey League. He was an Assistant Coach alongside current Panthers bench boss DeBoer when Team Canada won the 2005 World Junior Championship. The Kingston, Ontario native has previously been the head coach for three teams in the OHL – Mississauga Ice Dogs from 1998-2000, Belleville Bulls from 2000-2003 and Kingston Frontenacs from 2003-2006. Hulton also was the head coach for the Royal Military College for the 2006-07 season. Hulton is also very experienced at the international level. He was the Assistant Coach for the 2002 Canadian National U-18 team, the Head Coach for the 2003 Canadian National U-18 squad as well as the Assistant Coach for the Canadian National Junior Team in 2004 before winning the Gold Medal as an assistant with the 2005 Canadian National Junior Team. After playing two seasons of junior hockey as a member of the Kitchener Rangers (OHL) from 1986-88, Hulton went on to play for four seasons at York University where he also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. |
 JAMIE PRINGLE
Video Coach
Jamie Pringle,enters his second season as the Panthers' video coach after spending the past two seasons as the Manager of National Team Video for Hockey Canada. While with Hockey Canada, Pringle won a Gold Medal at the 2007 World Championship and both the 2007 and 2008 World Junior Championships. Prior to working with Hockey Canada, Pringle spent time as an assistant coach with Belleville (OHL) from 1999-2003 and with Kingston (OHL) from 2004-06. In 1995, Pringle graduated from Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario with a degree in television broadcasting. |
CRAIG SLAUNWHITE
Strength & Conditioning Coach
Craig Slaunwhite enters his first season at the club’s strength and conditioning coach. Slaunwhite joins the Panthers organization after serving as a personal trainer in Toronto, Ontario for elite athletes participating in various sports. He has worked extensively with both National Hockey League and American Hockey League players, creating specialized strength and conditioning programs. Additionally, he completed two internships prior to graduating from Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College (CMCC), working at the CMCC school clinic, as well as the Sherbourne Health Center. Slaunwhite also served as the on-field medical trainer and strength and conditioning coach for the Ontario Soccer Association. Most recently, Slaunwhite completed a Doctor of Chiropractic from the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College in June 2009 and also earned a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Dalhousie University in 2003. |
