Photos: USA Today, Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have named Jason Spezza general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and Amanda Kessel manager of minor league operations and assistant GM of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Spezza, who will also serve as assistant GM for Pittsburgh, will direct all facets of the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate. Spezza joined the Penguins organization in 2023 after a season as a special assistant to current Penguins GM Kyle Dubas when both were with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Spezza was voted the AHL’s most valuable player in 2004-05 when he led the league with 117 points in 80 games for the Binghamton Senators. The two-time AHL All-Star went on to play 1,248 games in the NHL with Ottawa, Dallas and Toronto, totaling 363 goals and 632 assists for 995 points.
Kessel, entering her third season with the Penguins, will assist Spezza with all matters involving the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton club while overseeing the organization’s ECHL affiliate in Wheeling.
A former standout at the University of Minnesota, Kessel played two seasons professionally for the New York/Metropolitan Riveters in the NWHL and is a three-time U.S. Olympian (2014, 2018, 2022).