Vellucci had been a member of Mike Sullivan’s staff since September 2020.
For the first time in six seasons, Mike Vellucci will not be a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization this fall.
The Chicago Blackhawks announced on Monday that Vellucci had been hired as an assistant coach on new head coach Jeff Bashill’s staff.
meet our assistant coaching staff‼️
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— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) June 2, 2025
“I’m looking forward to working alongside Mike who has excelled behind the bench at every level, as both a head and assistant coach,” Blashill said in a statement shared by the team.
After 13 seasons as an OHL head coach and five seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes organization, including a Calder Cup win with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, Vellucci was hired in summer 2019 to serve as general manager and head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
He led a roster featuring Pierre-Olivier Joseph and Casey DeSmith to a 29-26-8 record before he was promoted to Sullivan’s staff ahead of the 2020-21 season.
Vellucci was in charge of overseeing the penalty kill in Pittsburgh. The Pens deployed a top-three penalty kill in 2021-22, and over Vellucci’s five-season tenure ranked 11th with an average penalty kill success rate of 80.0 percent.
Most recently Vellucci served as an assistant at the 2025 IIHF Men’s World Championship for a the U.S. Men’s National Team roster that featured two young Blackhawks stars in Alex Vlasic and Frank Nazar. Team USA went on to win gold at the tournament for the first time since 1960.
Vellucci’s name hasn’t been tied to much speculation as to who the Penguins will hire as Sullivan’s replacement, although Frank Seravalli reported he had “multiple opportunities” to interview for head coaching roles this season.
The Hawks’ hire officially takes his name off that list. The Pens will now be tasked with finding a new penalty kill director alongside a new head coach.