Abercrombie served as a guest coach at the San Jose Sharks' training camp prior to the start of the 2023-24 season and served as a coaching development associate with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.
He joined the Arizona Coyotes' initial coaching internship program alongside Nathaniel Brooks during the team's development camp in September 2021.
Their internships were chronicled in NHL Original Productions' four-part series “NHL Bound,” which aired on NHL Network and Canada's Sportsnet, and produced the award-winning 2015 documentary “Soul on Ice: Past, Present.” It was directed by Kwame Damon Mason, who produced it. & future. “
“Duante is a very intelligent and hard-working person,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said in a TSU release. “He is detailed and organized. Duante has a great personality and a unique ability to connect with all of his players.”
Washington Capitals coach Spencer Carberry noticed those traits when he was an assistant with the Maple Leafs and shared a desk with Abercrombie.
“He's an unbelievable hard worker and has a passion for the game of hockey that is second to none,” Carberry told NHL.com. I have no doubt that he will be successful in the job. ”
Coyotes President and CEO Xavier Gutierrez told NHL.com that Abercrombie is “recognizing the importance of including diverse voices in decision-making and the importance of implementing this great policy. “That's exactly the type of voice that's needed for that (TSU) role.” Bringing sports to diverse communities. ”
Abercrombie began playing at the age of six with the Fort Dupont Ice Hockey Club in Washington. The club is an affiliate of the NHL's Hockey for Everyone initiative and is the oldest minority youth hockey program in North America. Founded in 1978 by Neil Henderson, he became the first African American to be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019.
Abercrombie briefly played professionally in New Zealand, playing for Brewster (New York) and Pittsburgh in the Federal Hockey League before being drawn to coaching.
From 2018 to 2022, he coached the Washington Little Capitals and served as their director of player achievement. He served as an assistant at Stevenson University, an NCAA Division III school near Baltimore, from 2019-2022. He also coached at Georgetown Preparatory School in his DC suburb.
Abercrombie is a member of the Washington Capitals Black Hockey Committee, a program designed to assist senior players of color by providing unique on-ice and off-ice training and support. He is the lead instructor for Rising Stars Academy.
He is also a member of the NHL Coaches Association's BIPOC program. The program is an initiative aimed at supporting coaches of color in several areas including skill development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, and networking.
“Being a great coach, especially at the collegiate level, is about more than just knowing your X's and O's,” NHLCA Executive Director Lindsay Pennall said. “Duante's experience, knowledge and commitment to the sport will allow him to excel in his new role. I can't wait to see him take the bench for that historic first game. ”
TSU is one of more than 100 universities in the United States, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands that are federally designated as an HBCU.
