WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – The 2023 Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers features numerous former hockey operations staff members of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins – including a pair of Northeast Pennsylvania natives.
Teddy Richards, who hails from Wilkes-Barre, is in his seventh season as the head equipment manager for the Florida Panthers, while Mike Joyce, a native of Scranton, is in his first season as Florida’s head strength & conditioning coach.
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On the other side of the bracket, Vegas has former Penguins staffers Kyle Moore and Doug Davidson as their associate head athletic trainer and head strength & conditioning coach, respectively.
Richards served as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s head equipment manager for 11 seasons, from 2002-2013. He has been Florida’s head equipment manager since 2016, a position he took after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Stanley Cup as an assistant on the team’s equipment staff.
Moore and Davidson have been members of the Golden Knights’ training staff since the club’s inaugural season in 2017-18. Davidson served as the Penguins’ strength & conditioning coach for two years, 2015-16 and 2016-17. Moore spent five seasons as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s head athletic trainer, spanning 2012-2017.
Joyce originally joined the Penguins as an intern under Davidson. He was hired to replace his mentor when Davidson went to Vegas in 2017. Joyce, a graduate of Marywood University, spent five seasons as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s head strength and conditioning coach before he was hired by Florida at the start of this season.
The Penguins also have several former players directly involved in this year’s Stanley Cup Final:
Teddy Blueger, who started his pro career with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2016, has one goal and one assist for two points in six games for Vegas during the playoffs.
Ryan Craig served as captain for the Penguins during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons, and he has been the Golden Knights’ assistant coach since the team’s first year.
Rob Tallas suited up in goal for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for 71 contests in 2001-02 and 2002-03, and he has been Florida’s goaltending coach since 2009.
The 2023 Stanley Cup Final will start with the first game of the best-of-seven series in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday.
Season-ticket packages for the upcoming 2023-24 season are on sale now. Full-Season, 22-game, 12-game, Flexbook and Premium Seating plans are available by reaching out to the Penguins directly at (570) 208-7367.
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