Mark French (ice hockey)

A native of Milton, Ontario, French played college hockey at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario, serving as assistant 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.

He became an assistant with the American Hockey League's (AHL) Hershey Bears in January 2008 and was named the franchise's 23rd head coach in 2009 following the promotion of Bob Woods to the Washington Capitals.

[1] In June 2013, French took the head coaching position for the newly-formed KHL Medveščak Zagreb of the Kontinental Hockey League.

[citation needed] On June 8, 2020, French became the head coach of the Wheeling Nailers, the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

[1] He resigned on April 21, 2021, to return to his family in Prince Edward Island that he had not been able to see for months due to the border closure during the COVID-19 pandemic.