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Former Edmonton Oilers forward Letestu lands professional head coaching gig

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Jul 5 2025, 11:02 pm
Former Edmonton Oilers forward Letestu lands professional head coaching gig
Jerome Miron/Imagn Images

We haven’t seen him in the NHL since 2019-20, but former Edmonton Oilers forward Mark Letestu continues to remain a big part of the hockey community.

Since retiring after a seven-game stint with the Winnipeg Jets in 2019-20, Letestu has turned is focus to coaching. He has spent the past four seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, and today, was named the head coach of the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.

“I am very grateful to both the Avalanche and Eagles for this opportunity,” said Letestu. “I am excited and ready for this challenge to lead their AHL franchise. Thank you to the Kroenke family, Joe Sakic, Chris MacFarland and Kevin McDonald for their trust in me, as well as a big thank you to Martin Lind, Ryan Bach and the entire Eagles organization. Most importantly thanks to my family for all of their support throughout my playing career and now my coaching career. I canā€™t wait to get the season going.ā€

The Elk Point native enjoyed a 567-game career as an undrafted player. He wore an Oilers sweater for 220 of those games, spending time with the organization from 2015 to 2018. During that time, he became a fan favourite things to his versatility and underrated offensive abilities.

That offence was really on display in 2016-17, a season in which the Oilers snapped a 10-year playoff drought. He was able to score a career-high 16 goals and 35 points, while stepping things up even further in the playoffs with five goals and 11 points in 13 outings.

Given that he’s just 40 years old, there is certainly a chance that fans could see Letestu behind an NHL bench in the years to come.

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