GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) — A West Michigan native is set to once again be named an NHL head coach.

Multiple outlets, including the NHL Network, have reported that Dan Bylsma will be named the next head coach of the Seattle Kraken. The team is expected to formally introduce him at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.

Bylsma, a Grand Haven native, has had a long career as both a player and as a coach. He played collegiately at Bowling Green State University and was selected in the sixth round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft by Winnipeg.

After several seasons bouncing between minor leagues, Bylsma made his NHL debut in 1996 with the Los Angeles Kings. He spent parts of five seasons with the Kings before signing with the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim as a free agent in 2000.

Bylsma retired following the 2003-2004 season and immediately jumped into coaching. He worked as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders and the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins before being promoted to serve as the interim head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

At 38 years old, Bylsma was the youngest head coach in the NHL at that time. After going 18-3-4 in his first 25 games, the interim tag was removed from Bylsma’s title and the Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Penguins made the playoffs in each of the next five seasons but never returned to the Stanley Cup Finals, and Bylsma was fired in 2014.

Grand Haven native Dan Bylsma, shown in a 2018 file photo, served as an assistant coach for the Detroit Red Wings for three seasons. (AP file)

Bylsma was hired to lead the Buffalo Sabres but was fired after two seasons, missing the playoffs in both. Bylsma then served as an assistant for the Detroit Red Wings for three seasons and spent three seasons coaching in the AHL, including the last two seasons leading the Coachella Valley Firebirds, Seattle’s AHL affiliate.

Last year, Bylsma’s Firebirds lost to the Hershey Bears in the Calder Cup Finals. Now, after posting the second-best record in the AHL, the Firebirds are back in the Western Conference Finals, facing off against the Milwaukee Admirals, the team that ended the Grand Rapids Griffins’ season over the weekend.

Bylsma will take over a team with playoff aspirations and a young core of talent, including former Michigan Wolverine Matty Beniers.

After going 46-28-8 and making the playoffs in 2022-23, the Kraken offense fell off last season, coming up 17 points shy of the Western Conference’s final wild card spot.