Former AHL assistant accuses Penguins of whistleblower violations after sexual assault allegations

Former Penguins minor league assistant coach Jarrod Skalde has accused the Pittsburgh Penguins of violating whistleblower laws after he reported a superior for sexually assaulting his wife, according to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Scranton.

The lawsuit alleges Clark Donatelli, former head coach of the Penguins’ American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, assaulted Erin Skalde repeatedly on Nov. 11, 2018, in Providence, R.I., during a road trip with the AHL team.

Donatelli is alleged to have to have initially assaulted Erin Skalde following a dinner while briefly separated from Jarrod Skalde as the former assistant coach arranged transportation to a team hotel.

After Jarrod Skalde rejoined the group, Donatelli is alleged to insist he share the backseat of a ride-share vehicle with Erin Skalde while Jarrod Skalde occupy the front passenger seat. According to the lawsuit, Donatelli assaulted Erin Skalde again while in the vehicle.

Donatelli’s lawyer, Dan Brier, declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted Tuesday.

Erin Skalde said in an interview with TSN on Sunday that she supported having her name published and details of her allegations reported.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed Nov. 3 and amended Monday: “Mrs. Skalde tried to fight off his sexual advances and told him to stop, but to no avail, as Mr. Donatelli escalated his attack, including reaching his hands into Mrs. Skalde’s shirt and repeatedly touching her breasts. He also tried to reach his hands into her pants. Mrs. Skalde tried to pull away and kept telling Mr. Donatelli to stop.”

Once in the car, the lawsuit alleges, Donatelli groped her breasts again and also forced his hands down her pants despite her efforts to push him away.

Donatelli also is alleged in the lawsuit to have assaulted a friend of the Skalde family in a “Wilkes-Barre/Scranton bar” as well as employees of the Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre at different times.

The lawsuit alleges Donatelli’s behavior was well known within the organization.

After confronting Donatelli about the alleged assault, Jarrod Skalde says in the lawsuit, he reported Donatelli’s behavior to Bill Guerin, then the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, on June 21, 2019, at the NHL draft in Vancouver, British Columbia.

On June 28, 2019, the Penguins announced Donatelli had resigned for “personal reasons.”

The lawsuit alleges Guerin informed Skalde that Donatelli was being terminated but instructed Skalde that the reasons needed “to stay quiet and can’t be let out.”

Guerin, now the general manager of the Minnesota Wild, denied the accusation in a statement issued by the Wild on Tuesday.

“When I learned of these allegations, I promptly brought them to Pittsburgh Penguins senior management,” Guerin said. “The allegations were quickly investigated. I emphatically deny anything to the contrary.”

Jarrod Skalde remained on staff under new head coach Mike Vellucci for the 2019-20 season but alleges retaliation, beginning with him being stripped of guiding Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s power play. Additionally, when new computers were provided to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coaching staff, Skalde was excluded from receiving one.

Per the lawsuit, his position was terminated May 5, 2020, because of staff reductions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He remained on payroll until June 30.

According to the lawsuit, Jarrod Skalde interviewed for the vacant head coach position with the Wheeling Nailers, the Penguins’ ECHL affiliate. That job eventually went to Mark French.

Jarrod Skalde was hired as head coach and director of hockey operations for the Cardiff Devils, a team based in the United Kingdom’s Elite Ice Hockey League, on Oct. 3.

The Skaldes, who reside in Niagara Falls, Ont., seek damages in an amount that exceeds $75,000 for physical and emotional pain, mental suffering and loss of income, according to the lawsuit.

According to TSN, the accusations have not been reported to police.

The Lemieux Group LP, the organization that owns the Penguins, filed a partial motion to dismiss Nov. 23.

The Penguins issued a statement Tuesday: “We took this incident very seriously and acted immediately. The team investigated and addressed the alleged incident within hours of being notified in June 2019 despite the fact that Mr. Skalde delayed seven months before he made any complaint.

“Following the report, Mr. Skalde continued to coach in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for an additional year, until we made significant staff reductions due to the covid-19 pandemic.”

The Skaldes’ attorney, Michael Homans, told the Tribune-Review on Tuesday he was “not going to argue the case in the press.”

“I think our complaint lays out the facts pretty clearly,” he said. “If they want to attack the Skaldes and their credibility and integrity, good luck. We’ll see them in front of a jury.”

The Wild issued a statement on behalf of that franchise.

“The Minnesota Wild has discussed this matter with Bill Guerin and fully supports him. As this is a matter of active litigation, we will have no further comment.”