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New blue jacket driver

New blue jacket driver

A former John Tortorella aide behind the Columbus Blue Jackets bench, Brad Larsen, was promoted to head coach on Thursday.

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It was Director General Jarmo Kekalainen who made the announcement in a press release. And so Larsen initialed a three-year agreement.

“We went through an extensive application review process from many excellent applicants to become the next head coach for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the one who was always on the conversation was Brad Larsen,” the general manager said.

The former National Hockey League (NHL) player has had a solid record with the Ohio roster over the past decade. First hired in 2010 as an assistant to the Springfield Falcons, the Major League Jackets school club, Larsen led the team for two seasons, each time winning the division title.

In 2014-15, the 43-year-old made the jump to the NHL, gaining experience behind players over the past seven seasons.

“I am very proud to be a Columbus Blue Jacket and to be a part of this amazing community for the past seven years, and I have been touched and proud to be appointed head coach of this club,” said Larsen, who was originally from from British Columbia.

He played on the left wing during his football career, collecting 48 points in 294 regular season games at Pittman Arena, between the 1997-1998 and 2007-2008 seasons. He was dressed as the Colorado Avalanche and Atlanta Thrashers.

The Blues chose not to renew coach John Tortorella’s contract at the end of last season. In six years at the helm, he was 227-166-54 in addition to winning the Jack Adams Cup once.

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