Michael George Vellucci (born August 11, 1966) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He is currently an assistant coach of the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. Previously, he was an assistant coach for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

for five seasons, and the head coach and general manager of the

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (sometimes known as the WBS Penguins) are a professional ice hockey team based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Pittsburgh Pengui ...

in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

for one season. Prior to that he was head coach of the

Charlotte Checkers The Charlotte Checkers are a professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the ...

in the American Hockey League for two seasons winning the Calder Cup in 2018-19. He was also head coach and general manager of the Plymouth Whalers in the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...

for 14 seasons.

Playing career

Vellucci played

major junior Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National List of members of the International Ice Hockey Federation, Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's nationa ...

with the

Belleville Bulls The Belleville Bulls were a junior ice hockey team, founded in 1981 and based in Belleville, Ontario. The team played in the Eastern Division of the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The team relocated to Hamilton, Ontario, ...

of the

from 1983 to 1986. During the summer of 1984 he was in a car driven by teammate Al Iafrate when it crashed and flipped multiple times. Vellucci was thrown from the car and broke his back. He missed the entire 1984–85 season as a result. Selected 131st overall in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

, Vellucci played professionally in the IHL, AHL, ECHL and BHL from 1986 to 1989. Vellucci appeared in two games in the

in 1987–88.

Management career

Vellucci was with the Detroit Compuware Ambassadors of the

North American Hockey League The North American Hockey League (NAHL) is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States and is in its 50th season of operation in 2024–25. It is the only Tier II junior league sanctioned by USA Hockey, and acts as an alternati ...

(NAHL) from 1994 to 1999, where his teams went 241–82–27 in the regular season and captured U.S. national championships in 1994 and 1999. The Ambassadors also captured two NAHL regular season titles and four Robertson Cups. Vellucci coached the Plymouth Whalers of the

(OHL) from 2001 to 2008, winning the Matt Leyden Trophy as OHL Coach of the Year in 2007 becoming the first American to win. That same season, he led the Whalers to the J. Ross Robertson Cup and a berth in the 2007 Memorial Cup. He was also named the OHL's Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year in 2012–13. Vellucci stepped down as head coach of the Whalers in December 2007, as he wanted more time to concentrate on his general manager duties, and he was replaced by Greg Stefan. Stefan coached the club until November 2008, when he resigned to take a job with the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

of the NHL, and Vellucci took over the coaching duties once again. Vellucci left the Whalers after the 2013–14 season and took a job as an assistant general manager and director of player development with the

of the

. After three seasons, he became the head coach of the Hurricanes'

(AHL) affiliate, the

in 2017. In his second season as the Checkers head coach, Vellucci won 2019 AHL's Coach of the Year award. The Checkers won the 2019 Calder Cup under Vellucci, beating the defending champion

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies are owned by Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

in the conference finals and the

Chicago Wolves The Chicago Wolves are a professional ice hockey team based in Rosemont, Illinois. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena ...

in the finals. This was the Checkers' first Calder Cup finals appearance and win. On June 28, 2019, Vellucci parted ways with the Hurricanes organization. On the same day, he was announced as the head coach of the

, the

' AHL affiliate. On September 2, 2020, Vellucci was named an assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. On May 28, 2025 it was reported by Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff.com that Vellucci was closing in on signing on to be an assistant coach with the

. The signing was confirmed by the team on June 2nd

Personal life

Mike and his wife, Sue, have 2 children, Allison and Ryan. Vellucci's son was drafted by Saginaw Spirit in the OHL. He was the captain for the

Johnstown Tomahawks The Johnstown Tomahawks are a junior ice hockey#Tier II, Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's East Division. The team plays its home games at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena, 1st Summit Bank Arena at Cambria ...

and currently plays for Adrian College. Vellucci's daughter worked for the

and

Florida Everblades The Florida Everblades are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Estero, Florida, in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, Cape Coral-Fort Myers metropolitan area. They play in the ECHL and are affiliat ...

as a broadcaster and social media manager, she currently works for the

PGA TOUR The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

AHL

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vellucci, Mike 1966 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen Belleville Bulls players Binghamton Whalers players Carolina Hurricanes executives Detroit Falcons (CoHL) players EHC Lustenau players Erie Panthers players Hartford Whalers draft picks Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey players from Michigan Indianapolis Ice players Milwaukee Admirals (IHL) players Sportspeople from Farmington, Michigan Ice hockey people from Oakland County, Michigan Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players Pittsburgh Penguins coaches Plymouth Whalers coaches Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players St. Thomas Wildcats players Whitley Warriors players Winston-Salem Thunderbirds players 20th-century American sportsmen