Spencer Carbery (born November 9, 1981) is a Canadian 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 ...

coach and former player who is the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

of 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 ...

(NHL).

Playing career

Born in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

, Carbery started his junior career with the

Peninsula Panthers The Peninsula Panthers are a junior ice hockey team based in North Saanich, British Columbia. They are members of the South Division of the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL). The Panthers play their home games at Panorama Recreation ...

of the

Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League The Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League (VIJHL) is a junior ice hockey league of 11 clubs on Vancouver Island. The Brent Patterson Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season. In 2024, the leagu ...

(VIJHL) in the 1999–2000 season. He was a key factor in the club going to the league finals, putting up 34 goals and 42 assists for 76 points to become the leading rookie scorer in Panthers franchise history. Carbery played junior hockey with the Cowichan Valley Capitals of the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

in the 2000–01 season, scoring 58 points during regular season play. In 2002, Carbery attended the

University of Alaska Anchorage The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) is a public university in Anchorage, Alaska, United States. UAA also administers four community campuses spread across Southcentral Alaska: Kenai Peninsula College, Kodiak College, Matanuska–Susitna C ...

, where he netted 1 goal and 2 assists in 26 games. Carbery attended St. Norbert College from 2003 to 2006, finishing out his

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

career with 103 points in the regular season. Carbery turned professional in 2006, signing with the

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa ...

of the

Central Hockey League The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...

(CHL). During the 2006–07 season, he scored 44 points (16 goals, 28 assists) over 63 games in the regular season. In 2007, Carbery moved to the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a minor professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams across the United States and Canada. Competitively, it is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The ...

, where he split the season between the

Bakersfield Condors The Bakersfield Condors are a professional ice hockey team based in Bakersfield, California. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Edmonton Oilers. The Condors play their home games at Dignity Healt ...

(18 games, 3 goals, 3 assists), the

Stockton Thunder The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yor ...

(20 games, 0 goals, 2 assists), and the

Fresno Falcons The Fresno Falcons are an adult travel inline hockey team and were a minor league hockey team. The ice hockey Falcons were charter members of several long standing leagues in the western United States including the Pacific Southwest Hockey Leagu ...

(20 games, 2 goals, 2 assists). Carbery also saw

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

action with the Falcons in 2008, playing one game in the National Conference quarterfinals. Carbery remained with the Falcons for the beginning of the 2008–09 season, putting up 13 points over 29 games in the regular season. Following the suspension of Falcons operations, Carbery joined the

South Carolina Stingrays The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston ...

' roster, scoring 29 points (12 goals, 7 assists) over 39 games. Carbery's

action with the Stingrays culminated in 5 goals, 8 assists, and a

Kelly Cup The Patrick J. Kelly Cup goes to the playoff champion of the ECHL. The Kelly Cup has been awarded to teams since 1997. Prior to 1997, the playoff winner was awarded the Riley Cup, named after former American Hockey League president Jack Riley. Th ...

championship. On September 11, 2009, Carbery re-signed as a free agent to a one-year contract to return to South Carolina. In the 2009–10 season on January 7, 2010, Carbery was named an

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

for the Stingrays. He achieved a

Gordie Howe hat trick A Gordie Howe hat trick is a variation on ice hockey's hat trick. It is accomplished when a player collects a goal, an assist, and a fight in the same game. It is named after Hall of Famer Gordie Howe. The term was coined by a 1950s New York ...

on January 16, 2010, against the

Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...

. On January 25, 2010, his goal against the

Reading Royals The Reading Royals are a professional ice hockey team that currently plays in the ECHL. The team participates in the North Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. The Royals play their home games at the Santander Arena located in downtown R ...

aided the Stingrays in tying the

record for the most players with a point in one game. All 15 skaters registered a point in the 8–5 victory over the Royals.

Coaching career

On August 31, 2010, Carbery announced his retirement from professional ice hockey and was named the Stingrays' assistant coach. He served as an assistant coach for the 2010–11 season, helping lead the team to a 37–29–3–3 regular season record and an appearance in the 2011 Kelly Cup playoffs. After Stingrays head coach Cail MacLean resigned to accept a position with 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 ...

Abbotsford Heat The Abbotsford Heat were a professional ice hockey team that played five seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) between 2009 and 2014. The team was based in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, and played its home games at the 7,046-seat A ...

in July 2011, Carbery was named the team's sixth head coach and director of hockey operations. At the age of 29, he was the youngest head coach in the ECHL at the time. He would eventually leave the Stingrays in 2016 to become head coach of the

Saginaw Spirit The Saginaw Spirit are a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team based in Saginaw, Michigan, Saginaw, Michigan. They are members of the West Division of the Western Conference of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of the ...

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 ...

. After one season, he left the Spirit to become an assistant for the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Providence, Rhode Island. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Hi ...

in the American Hockey League (AHL). Returning to the

farm system where he had begun his coaching career, Carbery was announced as the head coach of the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The Bears have played in the American Hockey League (AHL) since the 1938–39 season, making it the longest continuously operating member club of the league still ...

in the AHL on June 26, 2018. In 2021, he led the team to the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy in 2021, the AHL's regular season league championship, and won the

Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award The Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award is an American Hockey League (AHL) trophy awarded annually to the most outstanding coach during the season, as voted upon by members of the AHL media. The award is named for Louis Pieri, a long-time contributor ...

for coach of the year. On July 17, 2021, Carbery was hired as an assistant coach by the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

. On May 30, 2023, Carbery was named head coach of the Washington Capitals. In his first season, the Capitals clinched the second wild card and eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, but were swept in the first round of the 2024 playoffs by the

Presidents' Trophy The Presidents' Trophy () is an award presented by the National Hockey League (NHL) to the team that finishes with the most points (i.e., best overall record) during the regular season. If two teams are tied for the most points, then the Trophy ...

-winning

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

. The following 2024–25 season was an unexpected success for the Capitals, who finished the regular season as the top-ranked team in the Eastern Conference, and second in the league overall. Carbery was widely credited with improving the performance of the roster. He received the

Jack Adams Award The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The league's Coach of the Year award has been presented 51 times to 43 coaches. The winner is select ...

, given annually to the NHL's best coach, in recognition of his work.

Career statistics

Head coaching record

Awards

* NCHA All-Academic Team – 2004–05, 2005–06 *

Jerry Zucker Jerry Gordon Zucker (born March 11, 1950) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is one third of the filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker. He is best known for his role in writing and directing comedy spoof films like ...

Community Service Award – March 2009 * Coach of the Year (

) – 2013–14 retrieved August 14, 2014 *

( AHL) 2020–21 *

(

NHL 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 ...

) 2024–25

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carbery, Spencer 1982 births Alaska Anchorage Seawolves men's ice hockey players Bakersfield Condors (1998–2015) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey left wingers Cowichan Valley Capitals players Fresno Falcons players Hershey Bears coaches Jack Adams Award winners Living people Ice hockey people from Victoria, British Columbia South Carolina Stingrays coaches South Carolina Stingrays players Stockton Thunder players Tulsa Oilers (1992–present) players Washington Capitals coaches 21st-century Canadian sportsmen