The San Jose Sharks will hire Detroit assistant Todd McLelland as their new coach, according a report in the San Jose Mercury News.

Of McLelland, the paper writes, “ McLellan, 40, has been an assistant to Babcock for the past three seasons. Before that, McLellan was coach of the Houston Aeros and led that American Hockey League team to the Calder Cup title in 2003.”

Interesting choice. San Jose, considered a more “ready-made” team in terms of winning, hires a coach without NHL coaching experience. Will the Kings continue that trend?