Former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Mark Letestu and goaltender Brad Thiessen have been hired by the Columbus Blue Jackets in development coaching roles.
Letestu, 37, retired as a professional player in December. Over the course of 11 seasons with the Penguins, Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers and Winnipeg Jets, Letestu appeared in 567 games and recorded 210 points (93 goals, 117 assists).
Undrafted out of Western Michigan, Letestu broke into the NHL by signing a two-year, two-way contract in 2007 with the Penguins. After spending time with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League and the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, he made his NHL debut in 2009-10. He spent parts of three seasons with the Penguins before being traded to the Blue Jackets in November of 2011.
The majority of his NHL career (255 games) was spent with Columbus.
Thiessen, 35, announced his retirement earlier this month.
Also undrafted, Thiessen was signed to a two-year entry-level contract by the Penguins in April of 2009 following his junior year at Northeastern.
An All-Star with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Thiessen’s only NHL action came in the form of five games with the Penguins in 2011-12.
For the past six seasons, Thiessen has been a member of the Lake Erie/Cleveland Monsters franchise, the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, and was a member of that team’s Calder Cup championship in 2016.
