Cam Abbott brings international coaching experience to the Chicago Wolves, as the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League announced June 20th that the 40-year-old Abbott has been named head coach of the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves.
Abbott is the 14th head coach in Wolves history since its founding in 1994.
The Wolves, coming off 23-35-14 record last season, became the Hurricanes’ AHL affiliate May 2 when the clubs inked a three-year agreement. The Wolves finished last in the seven-team Central Division last season.
Abbott was the head coach of Rogle BK in the Swedish Hockey League from 2017-23. He was named the 2021-22 SHL Coach of the Year after Rogle BK topped the SHL regular-season standings and captured the Champions Hockey League for the first time. Prior to coaching Rogle BK, Abbott served as head coach of Vaxjo Lakers’ Under-20 team from 2016-17.
“It just felt right,” Abbott said. “I’m exceptionally excited to work under Rob Brind’Amour and work with the Carolina Hurricanes organization, and at the same time coach in an organization like the Chicago Wolves with its history and commitment to being a great club on the ice and the impact they have had on the community, how they’ve had a massive presence in the Rosemont area.
“It has me smiling every time I see someone from Carolina calling and talking about this opportunity. I’m really thrilled, excited and honored to have this opportunity.”
Brind’Amour has been the Hurricanes head coach since the 2018-19 season and was the 2021 Jack Adams Award-winner, given annually to the NHL’s Coach of the Year.
“I would love to think that (the Wolves) can have a great level of success in both producing star players for the Carolina Hurricanes and also creating a great brand of hockey for Chicago,” Abbott said. “I’ve followed (Carolina) extensively the last two years and they’ve been the most enjoyable team for me to follow closely and I’m very drawn to how they play. I think it’s smart, team-first, takes a lot of energy and it’s a fun system when you create the right environment for the players to buy in and have some fun together.”
The Hurricanes finished 52-23-7 this season yet were eliminated from the NHL playoffs in the second round by the New York Rangers.
A Sarnia, Ont., native, Abbott played several seasons of professional hockey as a forward. Abbott recorded 166 points (74 goals, 92 assists) in 276 SHL/Elitserien games with Rogle BK and Lulea HF from 2008-15. He also tallied 65 points (35 goals, 30 assists) in 42 games with Frisk Asker (Norway) in 2007-08 and posted 70 points (35 goals, 35 assists) in 55 Central Hockey League games with Bossier-Shreveport in 2006-07. Abbott played four seasons of college hockey at Cornell from 2002-06.
The Wolves’ home opener for the 2024-25 season is Saturday, Oct. 12, at Allstate Arena in Rosemont.