David T. Gove (born May 4, 1978) is a retired American ice hockey player and recent head coach of the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL. He last played with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League during the 2008–09 season.
Undrafted, Gove played in two NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes over his professional career. He recorded an assist in his first NHL game. During the 2005–06 season, he made his debut in which the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup that season. He did not have his name engraved on the cup because he did not play in half of the regular season games or make a finals appearance, but was included in the Stanley Cup team picture and held the cup like the rest of the team.
Prior to the 2015–16 ECHL season, Gove was hired as an assistant coach to Clark Donatelli, head coach of the ECHL's Wheeling Nailers. Gove was named the Nailers' interim head coach when Donatelli was promoted to the head coaching position of the Nailers' AHL affiliate the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on December 22, 2015. On January 21, 2016, he was made the full-time head coach of the Nailers. However, on April 29 he took a leave of absence for undisclosed reasons from Nailers while the team was in the playoffs. He would later be replaced as head coach in July 2016 by Nailers' assistant coach Jeff Christian.
Career statistics
| | Regular season | | Playoffs |
|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|
| 1997–98 | Western Michigan | CCHA | 36 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | Western Michigan | CCHA | 33 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Western Michigan | CCHA | 36 | 18 | 28 | 46 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | Western Michigan | CCHA | 39 | 22 | 37 | 59 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | Orlando Solar Bears | IHL | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001–02 | Johnstown Chiefs | ECHL | 54 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 32 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 2001–02 | Grand Rapids Griffins | AHL | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | Laredo Bucks | CHL | 8 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | San Antonio Rampage | AHL | 72 | 15 | 20 | 35 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | Utah Grizzlies | AHL | 75 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004–05 | Providence Bruins | AHL | 70 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 30 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 |
| 2005–06 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 65 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005–06 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2006–07 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 49 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2006–07 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 45 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 36 | 15 | 7 | 22 | 10 | 23 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 10 |
| 2008–09 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 20 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| AHL totals | 449 | 98 | 125 | 223 | 222 | 47 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 28 |
|---|
| NHL totals | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
|---|
Awards and honors
| Award | Year |
|---|
| All-CCHA Second Team | 1999–00 |
| All-CCHA Second Team | 2000–01 |
