Tom Kostopoulos Named Penguins Player Development Coach

Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins captain and recently retired Tom Kostopoulos has been named the Pittsburgh Penguins player development coach, per Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. Kostopoulos retired last month after a 19-year career, which included 630 career NHL games for the Penguins, and five other teams. Per the Penguins press release, Kostopoulos will work closely with Director of Player Development Scott Young, and fellow player development coach Jack Skalde within the hockey operations department.

Kostopoulos, 39, was the WBS Penguins captain for the past five seasons. Over 658 games for the WBS Penguins, which spanned from 1999-00 to 2017-18, Kostopoulos became one of the most popular players in franchise history. He is the AHL club leader in games, goals, and assists.

The Penguins credited Kostopoulos’ work with young players including Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Conor Sheary and Tom Kuhnhackl. Kostopoulos also played with the L.A. Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Carolina Hurricanes, Calgary Flames, and New Jersey Devils.

The Penguins also named former goalie and Wheeling Nailers alumnus Andy Chiodo the goaltending development coach. Chiodo played eight games for the Penguins in 2003-04 during their disastrous 18-game winless streak, and won the game which broke the franchise’s worst ever stretch. He was 3-4-1 for the Penguins.

Chiodo, 35, last played for the WBS Penguins in 2005-06, and has played almost exclusively in Europe, including stints in the KHL, Finland, and Austria. He will also work closely with Young, in the hockey ops department.