The Coyotes are expected to name Andre Tourigny as head coach.
The Arizona Coyotes announced a news conference for Thursday morning at which the team will introduce its new head coach. Signs point to it being longtime Canada national team and juniorlevel coach André Tourigny.
Tourigny, a 47-year-old native of Quebec, earlier this month helped Team Canada to the gold medal as an assistant coach at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship. He's believed to be the leading candidate after a Coyotes' search for a coach that began right at the end of the regular season last month.
Tourigny, head coach and vice president of hockey operations for the Ottawa 67s of the Ontario (Canada) Hockey League for the past four seasons, has three seasons of experience as an NHL assistant coach with the Colorado Avalanche and Ottawa Senators.
He has coached since 1998, starting in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, and has been a head coach and assistant at both the junior and senior national team levels for Hockey Canada.
The Coyotes have found the successor to Rick Tocchet, with whom the club parted ways after four years on May 9.
The search for a new coach got under way immediately with that decision, and General Manager Bill Armstrong targeted 10 original candidates that were eventually whittled down to a smaller group of finalists earlier this month.
Armstrong had said he hoped to have a head coach in place before the NHL draft, and one is in the fold with three weeks until that takes place. The Coyotes will start the draft on its second day, July 24, with a second-round pick.
Tourigny coached Coyotes forward Barrett Hayton as an assistant at the 2019-20 IIHF World Junior championship, and earlier this month worked with current Coyotes Michael Bunting, Darcy Kuemper and Adin Hill at the IIHF World Championship.
Coyotes Chief Hockey Development Officer Shane Doan was the assistant general manager for Team Canada.
A two-time OHL Coach of the Year and one-time Canadian junior hockey Coach of the Year, Tourigny had a 13052-16 record with the 67s. He is under contract with Hockey Canada to be an assistant coach at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, head coach at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship in Alberta, Canada, and head coach at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Finland.