from Scott Burnside of ESPN,

One minute Mark French, one of the rising stars among AHL coaches, is barking out instructions to the American Hockey League Hershey Bears at a morning practice.

The next minute, there's Hall of Fame-bound Adam Oates, putting the players through their drills.

Do too many whistles spoil the broth or does it make for a tasty hockey stew?

The Washington Capitals are going to find out.

While it has been common for NHL head coaches to make regular trips to see their club's AHL affiliates play during the current lockout, the Washington Capitals have rewritten the book on lockout coaching etiquette by installing Oates as a co-coach at the AHL level.

They are the only NHL team to have done so.

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