The Wheeling Nailers have named Mark French the 19th head coach in team history and director of hockey operations, the Nailers governor Don Rigby announced on Monday.
French replaces Mike Bavis, who was head coach for the last two seasons and did not have his contract renewed this offseason.
French was most recently head coach of HC Fribourg-Gottéron in Switzerland from 2017 until October 2019. His notable previous stops include three years as head coach of the Calgary Hitmen in the WHL, one year as head coach of Medvescak Zagreb in the KHL, and five and a half seasons as with the Hershey Bears in the AHL.