ARLINGTON, VA — Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery announced Saturday that Hershey Bears assistant coach Patrick Wellar will remain in DC as a temporary part of Washington’s coaching staff while the NHL continues its investigation into assistant coach Mitch Love.
Wellar has been a coach with the Bears since 2018, joining the team a month after Carbery came on as head coach. He previously spent six years with the organization as a player for the Bears and South Carolina Stingrays and was a member of Hershey’s 2010 Calder Cup championship team.
“Very familiar with Wellsy,” Carbery said. “He’s been in the organization for the last seven years, since I got here, hired him in Hershey my first year there.
“He’s done a tremendous job in Hershey, developing and working with our defenseman, veteran and young. Won a couple of Calder Cups along the way, so certainly has the track record and experience to be able to help our staff while we wait for the league and their findings.”
With Wellar staying in Washington, Capitals department of hockey operations employee Brent Thompson will fill in as an assistant coach in Hershey when the Bears begin their own training camp on Sunday. Thompson played parts of three seasons for the Bears, serving as captain in 2002-03, and is father to Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson.
Love, who was in the running for multiple head-coaching jobs this summer, has been on team-imposed leave since earlier this month pending an NHL investigation. Per reporting from multiple sources, both the league and at least one team interviewing him received a letter with allegations that sparked the investigation.
Capitals general manager Chris Patrick confirmed at the start of training camp that the allegations were personal in nature.
“We’ll see how things play out here in camp,” Patrick said at the time. “Hopefully, the league comes through with a resolution soon, and then we can make decisions based on that.”
Wellar will coach the Capitals’ blueliners, a role he’s already taken on during training camp. His early performance garnered a positive review from defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk.
“He’s been great,” van Riemsdyk said of Wellar on Saturday. “He’s super detailed. The drills we do are really translatable to the game and what we’re trying to accomplish, so it’s been nice working with him. He’s a good communicator behind the bench, too, in the game, so it’s been fun getting to know him.”
Neither the Capitals nor the NHL have provided a timeline for when the investigation into Love will conclude. The Caps will play four more preseason games before kicking off their regular season on October 8 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
