Former figure skating star David Pelletier is getting his first shot at being an NHL assistant coach.
The Dallas Stars announced Friday that Pelletier is joining new head coach Glen Gulutzan’s staff.
The 50-year-old from Sayabec, Que., had been a skating coach with the Edmonton Oilers for the last 11 years.
Pelletier joined the Oilers after a decorated figure skating career that included a gold medal in pairs with partner Jamie Salé at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.
In what became one of the biggest stories of those Games, Pelletier and Salé finished behind Russians Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze.
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But when a French judge admitted she’d been pressured by her federation to favour the Russians, it ignited a controversy.
Pelletier and Salé were later elevated to the top of the podium alongside Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze.
Canada’s Jamie Sale and David Pelletier wave to the crowd after receiving their gold medals for the pairs ice dance at the XIX Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2002. The gold medal was also awarded to the Canadian pair following a controversy in the judging of the competition. (CP PHOTO/Tom Hanson).
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Pelletier and Salé also won a world title and three Canadian championships over their career and shared the Lou Marsh Trophy (now Northern Star Award) as top Canadian athlete in 2001.
Pelletier joins Alain Nasreddine (assistant coach), Neil Graham (assistant coach), Jeff Reese (goaltending coach), Patrick Dolan (head video coach) and Chris Demczuk (assistant video coach) on Gulutzan’s staff.
Gulutzan, who spent the past seven seasons as an assistant with Edmonton, was named head coach of the Stars on July 1.
He replaced Peter DeBoer, who was fired after the Stars lost to Edmonton in the Western Conference final for the second straight year.