Monsters coach Trent Vogelhuber expected to join Blue Jackets staff

Cleveland’s season ended in the cruelest possible way, with Toronto scoring twice in the final five minutes of Game 5 to beat the Monsters 3-2 and finish off the North Division Finals. That sudden exit now appears to be the trigger for Trent Vogelhuber’s next move, with the Monsters head coach expected to join Rick Bowness’ Columbus Blue Jackets staff as an assistant.

The timing gives the story real weight beyond a simple coaching change. Cleveland had just fought back to force the decisive game after a 5-2 loss in Game 4 on May 23, only to see the Toronto Marlies take control late on May 25. The defeat closed a postseason run that kept Cleveland in playoff hockey for a third straight season and left the Monsters third in the AHL North Division.

For Columbus, Vogelhuber is more than a familiar name. He has coached the Monsters since the 2022-23 season, and Cleveland’s staff page says the club posted the North Division’s best record in 2023-24 under his leadership. That track record fits an organization that has long viewed Cleveland as both a development team and a testing ground, especially as the Blue Jackets prepare for Bowness’ first full season behind the bench.

Vogelhuber’s resume also ties him tightly to the franchise. The Blue Jackets drafted him in the seventh round, 211th overall, in the 2007 NHL Draft, and he spent seven seasons in the AHL, including Cleveland’s 2015-16 Calder Cup championship year. That background gives Columbus a coach who knows both the grind of the league and the organizational expectations from the inside out.

The move comes as Columbus continues to reshape its staff. On April 24, the Blue Jackets announced they would not retain assistants Mike Haviland and Scott Ford or video coach Aron Augustitus, opening the door for Bowness to assemble his own group after receiving a contract extension in mid-April. Vogelhuber’s expected promotion would keep that process tied to Cleveland, and it would leave the Monsters facing another offseason of change after a season that ended just short of the conference final.