The 2021 AHL Outstanding Coach Spencer Carbery has found a new home as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carbery spend the past three seasons as the head coach of the Hershey Bears.

In just three seasons in Chocolatetown, Carbery led the club to a record of 104-50-9-8, good for a .658 points percentage. His tenure as the 26th head coach in Hershey was so successful, in April 2021 he signed a multi-year extension. Three months later, he would find himself a spot in the NHL.

“The Hershey Bears want to thank Spencer Carbery for his three seasons with the club,” said vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer. “We enjoyed having Spencer and his family as members of the community, and the work that he did with our team was exceptional. He is an excellent coach who has a proven track record of winning and development, and he made our organization better in all facets during his time in Hershey. We are excited to see Spencer in the National Hockey League, and wish him and his family nothing but the best in Toronto.” 

He guided the Bears to a playoff berth and first round series win in his rookie season in 2018-19, and both his 2019-20 and 2020-21 clubs would have qualified for the playoffs had the postseason not been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At just 39 years old, Carbery is largely regarded one of the top young coaches in hockey.

Under Carbery’s guidance in 2020-21, the Bears finished atop the AHL standings with a record of 24-7-2-0, a .758 points percentage that ranks as the second-highest mark in the franchise’s 83-year history.

During the 2020-21 campaign, Carbery earned his 300th professional win on Apr. 7 at Binghamton, and tallied his 100th American Hockey League victory on May 2 versus Lehigh Valley. He became the 12th coach in franchise history to win 100 games with the Bears.

Carbery’s track record of developing young players speaks for itself, sending several players to the NHL to play for the Washington Capitals.

The Bears and Washington Capitals will begin the search for Hershey’s new head coach immediately.