Hey guys, Shawn here. With the Wolfpack playing a game Wednesday against the Laval Rocket, our game recaps/team recaps got pushed back to Thursday.
One thing I would like to do is start doing profiles of people important within the Wolfpack organization. I think it would be fitting to start this profiles series by looking at none other than new Wolfpack head coach Kris Knoblauch, and why his coaching style is important for these young guys down in Hartford vying for a spot to play with the New York Rangers.
At first, Knoblauch is a guy who’s coaching resume speaks for itself. Coaching in the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), in both the Western Hockey League (WHL) and Ontario Hockey League (OHL), Knoblauch has had a hand in developing some of the NHL stars you’ve seen today.
He’s coached NHL stars such as: Conor McDavid, Alex DeBrincat, Sam Reinhart, Dylan Strome, Andre Burakovsky, Anthony Cirelli, Erick Cernak and Connor Brown to name a few during his time as coach for the Kootenay Ice and Erie Otters. He would go on and win the WHL Championship during his first year as coach for the Ice, and the OHL championship with the Otters.
One thing to note is how much he enjoys teaching and bringing in players to give them a learning moment. He’s also big on development. During the announcement naming him as a head coach, he stated “I like to have my players involved, and I want them to feel that I am completely invested in their development.”
That is a big thing that I’ve seen so far with Knoblauch, is he actually wants to see the players down in Hartford succeed. You can like or dislike how he’s benched Vitali Kravtsov or made him sit in the press box, yet there was a reason behind his decisioning. At the end of the day, he wants to have Kravtsov have that fire and energy to be a top player game in and game out.
While he was an assistant coach of the Philadelphia Flyers under Dave Hakstol, he always had the itch to return behind the bench as a head coach.
“While I was in Philadelphia, one thing I was missing was being a head coach, and making those decisions, and having more involvement in the game,” Koblauch said.
He couldn’t be more right, having the ability to make those decisions and be behind those decisions is probably the most important thing about being a head coach. He’s more interactive and more hands on with the team, openingly not having an issue going to a player and have a coaching moment on a bench during the game. At the end of the day, Knoblauch wants this team to succeed. There’s a lot of young talent in Hartford right now that needs a coach like Knoblauch, and he’s starting off on the right foot.
Sunday, he continued his strong play, as it really felt like he was excited getting the extra time as the team’s top line center. Really taking control of the game yet again. He netted his second goal of the young season, and really had a chance for two, if it wasn’t for Americans goaltender Andrew Hammond, who looked great for the Americans.
Some other things to note about Knoblauch:
- He was a hot commodity for coaching candidates this off-season, as he is very highly regarded due to his time at Kootenay and Erie.
- The First Pass had a great article talking about how the Otters set up their transition offense, both on the powerplay and at even strength, liking it to watching how Russian teams handle their transition offense both on the powerplay and even strength.
- Broad Street Hockey, in their profile on Knoblauch when he was hired as an assistant to Hakstol, praised the powerplay in Erie and talked about how the numbers on the Erie powerplay were downright unfair. For example, in the 2014-2015 season in Erie the Otters powerplay converted at 31.2%!
- From the same article they had a great quote from TSN’s Craig Button who stated how he’s a coach who maximizes his players abilities, can adapt and can make adjustments on the fly. It also spoke highly of how he’s a great developer and great bench coach.
A lot of this information screamed “good hire” to me just because of what the Woflpack need now. They need a coach who can develop these young kids in Hartford who are important future pieces for the Rangers organization. With Filip Chytil, Joey Keane, Vitali Kravtsov and Igor Shesterkin, just to name a few, having a coach like Knoblauch is the right move. He can motivate them to play at the highest level night in and night out, and try to find ways to integrate them more on the fly.
When it comes to adjustments, I’ve seen him make adjustments quite rapidly, and the game against Binghamton on October 19 is a prime example of him making adjustments on the fly. With the team down 3-1, he quickly had the team regroup and refocus, which facilitated the team clawing their way back into the game, which they won in overtime, 4-3.
Again, thanks for reading about the Hartford Wolfpack, as mentioned above, regularly scheduled Wolfpack reviewing will come back on Thursday. The podcast, with the same title, is released every Friday.
