The Ducks have named Richard Clune as an assistant coach to Greg Cronin, the team announced in a news release Friday.
Clune, 37, may have a name familiar to Southern California hockey fans as he was part of the Kings organization from 2008 to 2013, including a 14-game stint with the parent club during the 2009-10 season.
He was drafted by the Dallas Stars and, after his time with the Kings, he enjoyed a couple campaigns as a regular for the Nashville Predators before moving onto the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played 19 games for the Leafs, his hometown club, and was a mainstay for their American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies, with whom he worked in player development following his 2022 retirement and then as an assistant coach last season.
In his playing days, he was known as “Rich” or “Dicky.” Now, he might bring the same ebullience he brought to those locker rooms to the Ducks’ bench.
“He will be a blast of fresh energy,” Cronin said via text.
This will be Clune’s first NHL job, and he’ll work with the Ducks’ forwards as well as their power-play units. While Clune’s calling cards were grit and agitation as a player – he had 327 penalty minutes in 139 NHL games and a similar ratio in the AHL – he helped the Marlies’ skill players potentiate the club’s power play last season after coming aboard mid-campaign.
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He replaces Newell Brown, whose most recent stint with the Ducks saw initial improvement and then significant stagnation, albeit in part due to a thin group that became further emaciated by injuries and departures.
In addition to his career in hockey, Clune has been outspoken in raising awareness about addiction and mental health. Though he competed in the higher-profile Canadian junior system, Clune had also considered attending Harvard University. Off the ice, he’s had interest in writing and acting, and even had a documentary film made about his own battle with substance abuse titled, “Hi, My Name is Dicky.”