Kris Knoblauch

Kris Knoblauch (born September 24, 1978) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player who is the head coach for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He had previously been the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).[1][2]

Kris Knoblauch
Born (1978-09-24) September 24, 1978
Imperial, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Winger
Shot Left
Played for Asheville Smoke
Austin Ice Bats
Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne
Current NHL coach Edmonton Oilers
NHL draft 166th overall, 1997
New York Islanders
Playing career 1999–2006
Coaching career 2006–present

He had a total of 13 seasons of coaching experience before joining Hartford,[3] including two seasons as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL) and seven years as a head coach in the Canadian junior leagues. He compiled a record of 298–130–16–13 during that time.[1][2]

Playing career

Knoblauch is from Imperial, Saskatchewan.[1][3] He was a seventh-round pick and the 166th pick overall, of the New York Islanders in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft,[3][4] but never played at the NHL level.[1] Playing in the position of winger,[4] Knoblauch played parts of four seasons of junior hockey in the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1995 to 1998 with the Red Deer Rebels, Edmonton Ice and Lethbridge Hurricanes. He then played for five seasons with the Alberta Golden Bears from 1999 to 2003, during which time he registered 117 points (38 goals and 79 assists) in 102 games. He was part of the team that won a National Championship during the 1999–00 season.[3] Knoblauch played professionally with the Austin Ice Bats of the Central Hockey League, before finishing his playing career in France as a member of the Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne.

Coaching career

Knoblauch began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Prince Albert Raiders of the WHL during the 2006–07 season. He became an assistant coach with the Kootenay Ice of the WHL for three seasons from 2007 to 2010,[3] becoming the Ice's head coach in 2010.[2]

Kootenay Ice

In his first season with Kootenay during the 2010–11 season, the team posted a 46–21–1–4 record in the regular season, won 16 of 19 WHL playoff games and won the Ed Chynoweth Cup.[3] Knoblauch continued his success with the Ice the following season, as the team posted a 36-26-5 record, but was swept by the Edmonton Oil Kings in the first round of the WHL playoffs. [2]

Knoblauch interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with the University of Alberta Golden Bears men's ice hockey team and did so without consulting the Ice.[5] Despite being on the Golden Bears coaching job shortlist, Knoblauch was relieved of his head coaching duties with the Ice on 24 May 2012.[6]

Erie Otters

Knoblauch became the head coach of the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), a position he held from 2012 to 2017.[2]

During his four full seasons with the Erie Otters, the team had a 204–58–7–3 record (.768 points percentage) and won at least 50 games each season. They were the first team in Canadian Hockey League history to post four consecutive 50-win seasons. Erie won the OHL Championship in the 2016–17 season under Knoblauch's leadership. Additionally, the Otters made it to the OHL Championship in the 2014–15 season and won the Hamilton Spectator Trophy in recognition of having the OHL's best regular season record in consecutive seasons from 2015–16 and 2016–17. Knoblauch was the recipient of the Matt Leyden Trophy in 2015–16, making him OHL Coach of the Year that season. He also made OHL's Second All-Star Team in 2013–14.[3]

Knoblauch was the head coach for Canada-Red at the 2015 World U17 Hockey Challenge and assistant coach with Canada at the 2017 IIHF World U20 Championship, where Canada earned a Silver Medal.[3] During his seven total seasons as head coach of the Kootenay Ice and Erie Otters, Knoblauch compiled a record of 298–130–16–13,[1][2] and coached such players as Connor McDavid, Alex DeBrincat, André Burakovsky,[1][3] Connor Brown, Erik Černák, Anthony Cirelli, Travis Dermott, Sam Reinhart and Dylan Strome.[3]

Philadelphia Flyers

Knoblauch was a Philadelphia Flyers assistant coach during the team's 2017–18 and 2018–19 seasons.[1][2]

Hartford Wolf Pack

The New York Rangers organization announced on July 29, 2019, that Knoblauch had been appointed the head coach of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers' AHL affiliate team. This marks the first time Knoblauch became a head coach at the professional level. Knoblauch replaced Keith McCambridge, who was fired after two seasons as Hartford coach.[1] Knoblauch was the seventh coach in Wolf Pack history.[2] On March 17, 2021, Knoblauch served as the New York Rangers' head coach when David Quinn and his staff was placed on the COVID-19 protocol list. In Knoblauch's first game as head coach the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 9–0 at Madison Square Garden. Quinn was out for six games total, the Rangers won four games and lost two under Knoblauch.

Edmonton Oilers

On November 12, 2023, the Edmonton Oilers announced that they had hired Knoblauch as their head coach to replace the recently fired Jay Woodcroft.[7]

Career statistics

Playing career
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1995–96 Red Deer Rebels WHL 10000 —————
1996–97 Red Deer Rebels WHL 434141829 —————
1996–97 Edmonton Ice WHL 24771473 —————
1997–98 Edmonton Ice WHL 72182341193 —————
1998–99 Kootenay Ice WHL 21731036 —————
1998–99 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 52202242102 41346
1998–99 Asheville Smoke UHL ————— 40005
1999–2000 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 4725265130 —————
2000–01 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 4231346512 —————
2001–02 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 3513304312 —————
2002–03 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 3111243522 —————
2003–04 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 3614253932 —————
2004-05 Austin Ice Bats CHL 6018224076 —————
2005–06 Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne Division 1 2829174624 —————

Head coaching record

NHL
TeamYearRegular seasonPostseason
GWLOTLPtsFinishWLWin %Result
EDM2023–24 6946185(97)2nd in Pacific  –TBD
Total6946185    – 

Other leagues
TeamYearLeagueRegular seasonPostseason
GWLOTLPtsFinishResult
KOO2010–11WHL 7246215973rd in CentralWon Ed Chynoweth Cup (POR)
KOO2011–12WHL 72362610824th in CentralLost in first round (EDM)
ERI2012–13OHL 2912254285th in MidwestDid not qualify
ERI2013–14OHL 68521421062nd in MidwestLost in third round (GUE)
ERI2014–15OHL 68501441041st in MidwestLost in J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals (OSH)
ERI2015–16OHL 68521511051st in MidwestLost in third round (LDN)
ERI2016–17OHL 68501531031st in MidwestWon J. Ross Robertson Cup (MSA)
HFD2019–20AHL 62312011734th in AtlanticSeason cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
HFD2020–21AHL 241491292nd in AtlanticNo playoffs due to COVID-19 pandemic
HFD2021–22AHL 7232328727th in AtlanticMissed playoffs
HFD2022–23AHL 72352611815th in AtlanticLost in third round (HER)
WHL total 144824715179 2 playoffs appearances
OHL total 3012168314446 4 playoffs appearances
AHL total 2301128731255 1 playoff apperance

References
  1. Stephenson, Colin (July 29, 2019). "Rangers hire Kris Knoblauch to coach their AHL team in Hartford". Newsday. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  2. Mercogliano, Vincent Z. (July 29, 2019). "New York Rangers hire Kris Knoblauch as head coach for AHL Hartford". The Journal News. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  3. "Kris Knoblauch Named Head Coach of the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack". National Hockey League. July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  4. "Kris Knoblauch". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  5. What happened in Cranbrook?
  6. Kootenay head coach Kris Knoblauch fired
  7. "Woodcroft fired as Oilers coach, replaced by Knoblauch". NHL.com. November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
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