Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell announced today that Trent Vogelhuber, who has spent the past four seasons as head coach of the Cleveland Monsters, the club’s AHL affiliate, has joined the Blue Jackets as an assistant coach.

The club also announced that Nick Bootland, who has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Hershey (Penn.) Bears, has been named head coach in Cleveland.

“Trent has done a fantastic job over the past four seasons in Cleveland and is one of the bright, young coaches in our game,” said Waddell. “He is hard-working, an excellent communicator, knows our players and will be a great addition to our staff in Columbus.”

Vogelhuber, 37, compiled a 145-108-35 record (.564) in 288 regular season games behind the Monsters bench and added a 17-12 mark (.586) in 29 outings in the Calder Cup Playoffs. After posting a 33-32-7 mark (73 pts.) in his first campaign, he led the club to three consecutive playoff appearances beginning in 2023-24.

Vogelhuber was named the Monsters head coach on June 8, 2022 after spending four seasons as an assistant with the club under head coaches John Madden (2018-19) and Mike Eaves (2019-22). His coaching career began following a six-year playing career that was cut short by injuries following the 2017-18 season. 

The Dublin, Ohio native was selected by the Blue Jackets in the seventh round, 211th overall, at the 2007 NHL Draft held at Nationwide Arena. During his professional career, he registered 28 goals and 45 assists in 267 career AHL games with the Springfield Falcons, Lake Erie Monsters, and San Antonio Rampage.

In his time with the Monsters, he helped the club capture the 2016 Calder Cup championship. Vogelhuber also played four seasons at Miami University, tallying 21-30-51 in 149 career games with the Redhawks.  He helped Miami capture a CCHA regular season championship and earn trips to four consecutive NCAA tournaments.

Bootland, 47, helped Hershey advance to the postseason in each of the past four seasons and capture back-to-back Calder Cup championships in 2022-23 and 2023-24. He began his coaching career with the Kalamazoo Wings (IHL2/ECHL) and spent 13 seasons as the club’s head coach and director of hockey operations. 

He compiled a record of 481-366-82 (.562) in 929 career games with Kalamazoo, helping the club qualify for the playoffs nine times.  During his tenure, the Wings won four division and one conference title, advancing to the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Finals in 2010-11. His 853 games coached and 437 wins rank among the top 10 in ECHL history.

“Nick is an experienced coach who has spent nearly two decades working with and developing young players. He knows the league very well and we are excited to have him as the next head coach of the Monsters,” said Chris Clark, Columbus assistant general manager and GM of the Monsters.  

A native of Shelburne, Ontario, Bootland was a ninth-round pick of the Dallas Stars in the 1996 NHL Draft. After playing three seasons with the OHL’s Guelph Storm, the forward embarked on a 10-year playing career in which he registered 29-43-72 in 329 career AHL games with Hershey and the Cleveland Barons.