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Mark Hardy enters his first season with the Blackhawks after being named to the coaching staff as an Assistant Coach on June 12, 2006.
Hardy, 47, served as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings for the previous seven and a half seasons (1998-99 to 2005-06). His responsibilities while with the Kings focused on defensive play, penalty killing and overall play without the puck. Hardy's penalty killing unit ranked third in the NHL for the 2001-02 season with an 86.6% success rate which marked the second best in Kings history.
After enjoying a 15-year NHL career as a defenseman for the Kings, New York Rangers and Minnesota North Stars, Hardy turned to coaching as an assistant coach with the Long Beach Ice Dogs (IHL) prior to joining the Kings coaching staff.
Hardy was originally selected by the Kings in the second round, 30th overall, in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. He played his junior hockey (QMJHL) in Montreal with current Blackhawk Assistant Coach Denis Savard. Hardy was twice named the Kings Outstanding Defenseman (1984-85 and 1986-87). He stayed with the Kings until 1988, after two stints with the Rangers and a short run with the North Stars. Hardy returned to the Kings in 1993 and helped the team advance to the Stanley Cup Finals that season. He concluded his NHL playing career the following season (1993-94) with the Kings.
In 915 career NHL games, Hardy a native of Switzerland, recorded 368 points (62g, 306a) and 1,293 penalty minutes.
Mark and his wife, Kristina, have two children, a daughter, Jessica, and a son, Kevin. | 