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Nasreddine

One of the most familiar faces in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s hockey history is coming home.

But this time, he’ll be on the other side of the boards for the Penguins.

Alain Nasreddine, who’s among the top 10 in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s record books for games played and points by a defensemen, was named the team’s assistant, parent Pittsburgh’s general manager Ray Shero announced Friday.

The move will provide Nasreddine with his first hockey coaching job, and accelerated his retirement as a player after he spent the past two seasons as a defenseman playing in Germany for the Nuremburg Ice Tigers.

“Now it’s time to transfer that passion I had for playing into coaching,” said Nasreddine, 35.

The Montreal native spent five seasons playing for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and was part of the Penguins run to the Calder Cup Finals in 2004 and 2008. He ranks 10th on the team’s all-time list with 249 games played, and his 56 points are seventh all-time by a defenseman in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton history.

“He’s a great person for the Penguins organization,” said Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach John Hynes, who recently was promoted to that post when Todd Rierden moved up to Pittsburgh to become an assistant with the parent Penguins. “He’s got some great playing experience and life experiences.”

Nasreddine’s playing experience during a 15-year pro career included 74 NHL games with Chicago, Montreal, the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh. During his 726-game AHL career, Nasreddine posted a total of 136 points and accumulated 1,492 penalty minutes.

“I feel really, really grateful to be starting at a high level like this,” Nasreddine said. “But they picked me because I can bring something to this organization.”