The Cleveland Monster announced Tuesday that Head Coach Trent Vogelhuber, Cleveland’s bench boss for the past four seasons, was hired by the Blue Jackets as Assistant Coach under Head Coach Rick Bowness. A Cleveland-area native raised in Greater Columbus, Vogelhuber served as Head Coach of the Monsters from 2022-26 following a four-year stint as a Monsters assistant (2018-22), and a seven-season AHL playing career. The Blue Jackets also announced Tuesday that Nick Bootland, assistant coach for the AHL’s Hershey Bears for the last four seasons, will succeed Vogelhuber as Cleveland’s eighth head coach in club history.

The Monsters’ longest-tenured and winningest head coach in club history, Vogelhuber posted a record of 145-108-21-14 (.564 points percentage) in 288 career regular-season games behind Cleveland’s bench and led his team to the postseason in three consecutive years (2004-26), a feat never before accomplished by a Monsters head coach. Vogelhuber’s ascent to the Columbus coaching staff underlines the highly successful partnership between the Monsters and Blue Jackets spanning more than a decade of NHL/AHL affiliation. “I’d like to thank Trent for his professionalism, hard work and dedication to Monsters hockey, first as a Calder Cup-winning player, then as an assistant coach and for the past four years as our head coach,” said Chris Clark, Assistant General Manager, Columbus Blue Jackets / General Manager, Cleveland Monsters. “Joining the Blue Jackets is a great and much-deserved opportunity for Trent and he will be a great addition to Rick Bowness’ coaching staff.”

In 2023-24, Vogelhuber led the Monsters to a North Division-best 40-24-5-3 record and the Monsters’ first Division title in team history, and served as North Division Head Coach at the AHL All-Star Classic. After dispatching the Belleville Senators in four games in the North Division Semifinals, Vogelhuber’s club completed a three-game sweep of the Syracuse Crunch in the North Division Finals. In an Eastern Conference Final for the ages, the Monsters rallied from down three games to none to force a winner-take all Game 7 in which the Monsters were defeated by the eventual Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears in overtime. The following season, Vogelhuber notched a First Round series win over the Toronto Marlies by virtue of a two-game sweep before succumbing to the Laval Rocket in four games in the North Division Semifinals. In 2025-26, Vogelhuber’s club defeated Syracuse in a four-game North Division Semifinal series before falling to the eventual Calder Cup Champion, Toronto, in a five-game North Division Final.

Originally selected by Columbus in the seventh round (211th overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, Vogelhuber posted 28-45-73 with 191 penalty minutes and a +8 rating in 267 career AHL appearances for the Springfield Falcons, Lake Erie Monsters, and San Antonio Rampage spanning parts of seven seasons from 2011-18. Vogelhuber played a critical role on the Monsters’ 2016 Calder Cup Championship team as the club’s fourth-line center and added 21-30-51 with 123 penalty minutes and a +17 rating in 149 career NCAA appearances for Miami (OH) University spanning four seasons from 2008-12. Vogelhuber helped Miami claim the 2010 CCHA Regular Season Championship and the 2011 CCHA Tournament Championship.