Florida Panthers General Manager Jacques Martin announced today that Peter DeBoer has been named the 10th head coach in the club’s history. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. A formal press conference will be held on Monday, June 16 at 11 a.m. at the BankAtlantic Center when DeBoer will be officially introduced.

DeBoer, 40, guided the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to a 53-11-0-4 mark last season, claiming the OHL Championship, before falling to the Spokane Chiefs in the Memorial Cup finals. DeBoer’s Kitchener club held the No. 1 spot as the top junior team in Canada for 15 weeks.

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The coaching announcements are coming fast and furious now.

A good move by Florida to get a coach who's considered one of the up-and-coming young bench bosses. They must have offered DeBoer a good package, likely one that outdid whatever Ottawa had in mind.

He was also supposed to interview with the Kings this weekend.

The coaching ranks are certainly getting younger in the NHL, as this is the second 40-year-old to take the helm of a club this week.

"I am very excited about getting the opportunity to coach the Florida Panthers," said DeBoer. "I am looking forward to the challenge of guiding this franchise back to the playoffs and to putting a team on the ice that our fans in South Florida can be proud of."

"Peter was our top candidate to fill the coaching vacancy and we are very pleased that he has decided to join our organization," said Florida GM Jacques Martin. "He is a great hockey mind who will complement our coaching staff very well. He has been very successful in the junior ranks and I am confident that he will help our franchise accomplish its goals."

DeBoer coached Panthers forward Stephen Weiss in Plymouth of the OHL.
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