Columbus Blue Jackets add Mike Haviland, Scott Ford as assistant coaches

A team has filled out the rest of its coaching staff.

On Thursday, the Columbus Blue Jackets announced the hiring of Mike Haviland and Scott Ford as the team’s new assistant coaches. The two men will join new head coach Dean Evason, along with assistant coaches Steve McCarthy and Jared Boll and goaltending coach Niklas Backstrom, for the 2024-25 season.

General manager Don Waddell said the additions of Ford and Haviland were well thought out.

“Working with Dean [Evason],” Waddell explained in a release. “We identified Mike and Scott as two well-respected, energetic and personable individuals to join our club. Along with Steve, Jared and Nik, we believe that we have a staff that will be incredible assets for our players.”

“I’m excited to work with the assembled group,” Evason said. “They bring a lot of playing and coaching experience with a deep understanding of the game along with the passion and strong work ethics that will help push our team forward.”

The announcement comes less than a day after it was reported that NHL Hall of Famer Mark Recchi was not going to return to the Blue Jackets as an assistant coach. Recchi was on Pascal Vincent’s staff during a tough 2023-24 campaign. The team formally announced that Recchi and Josef Boumedienne will not be back as coaches.

Haviland is well acquainted with the Blue Jackets system. He spent the last two seasons as an associate coach with Columbus’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters. The 57-year-old previously was a head coach at Colorado College from 2014 to 2021 and the Norfolk Admirals from 2005-07, when they were in the AHL.

Haviland has some championship experience as a head coach, as he led the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies and New Jersey Titans to win the ECHL’s Kelly Cup in 2003 and 2005, respectively.

Ford is also getting a call-up from the minor leagues. The Fort St. John, British Columbia native spent the last eight seasons as an assistant coach of the Milwaukee Admirals, the primary affiliate of the Nashville Predators. Prior to coaching, Ford played professionally for 11 seasons and bounced around the minor leagues, including playing for Evason for three seasons in Milwaukee. The 44-year-old’s first coaching job was an assistant role under Evason with the Admirals from 2015 to 2018.