ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Former Rochester American Derek Whitmore was recently named assistant men's hockey coach at Mercyhurst University.

The Greece native is making the full-time move to coaching after his playing days ended two years ago.

What You Need To Know

  • Former Rochester American Derek Whitmore is making the full-time move to coaching at Mercyhurst 

  • Whitmore spent four seasons in the Sabres organization after his graduation from Bowling Green

  • Whitmore says he is willing to share his journey with anyone willing to listen

"I got a little bit of the behind the bench action my last year of playing in Reading, in the ECHL. I did a lot more coaching that year then playing so I kind of had a sense that this was something that I wanted to do when I retired," Whitmore said.

The forward's ten-year professional run began after his graduation from Bowling Green in 2008. Signing with the Sabres, he made debut with the Amerks and scored his first pro goal. Whitmore spent four seasons in the Sabres organization.

"I played my best hockey when I was on a third or even sometimes a fourth line role where I wasn't necessarily playing on the top line with the best players. I was playing with guys that kept the game really simple. I'd say I was more of a worker bee, a grinder type player that had the ability to score when presented the opportunity," Whitmore explained.

Working for those opportunities got Whitmore in the Amerks record book during the 2011-2012 season. 

"That four-goal night right after Thanksgiving. There was a lot of friends and family that were at the game. Getting the hat trick was pretty cool because it was my first pro hat trick but then the fourth one was a little bit of icing on the cake. That's definitely one of the highlights for sure of my time in Rochester, even my career overall, " Whitmore said.

A career that included several seasons in Europe. Injuries eventually ended Whitmore's run in 2018, but the 35 year-old has no regrets. 

"It was an awesome experience and it was something that, looking back I can really enjoy and understand that I did it and I was able to play in the NHL even though it was two games but I did a lot of cool things and was able to see a lot of neat places throughout the career," Whitmore added.

His career is now continuing behind the bench at Mercyhurst and Whitmore's willing to share his journey with anyone willing to listen.

"There's definitely some good players that come through the program and they want to go on and play pro hockey and my experiences can really help these guys and there's opportunity if you're willing to put in the work," he said.