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 (age 46)
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] Knoblauch coached the Oilers to an appearance in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals.

Playing career

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Knoblauch is from Imperial, Saskatchewan.[4][1][3] He was a seventh-round pick, 166th overall, of the New York Islanders in the 1997 NHL entry draft,[3][5] but never played at the NHL level.[1] Playing in the position of winger,[5] 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 University of 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.[citation needed]

Coaching career

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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

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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.[citation needed] Despite being on the Golden Bears coaching job shortlist, Knoblauch was relieved of his head coaching duties with the Ice on May 24, 2012.[6]

Erie Otters

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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. Under Knoblauch's leadership, Erie won the OHL Championship in the 2016–17 season. 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 in 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

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

Hartford Wolf Pack

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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, 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 were 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

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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

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Playing career

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1995–96 Red Deer Rebels WHL 1 0 0 0 0
1996–97 Red Deer Rebels WHL 43 4 14 18 29
1996–97 Edmonton Ice WHL 24 7 7 14 73
1997–98 Edmonton Ice WHL 72 18 23 41 193
1998–99 Kootenay Ice WHL 21 7 3 10 36
1998–99 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 52 20 22 42 102 4 1 3 4 6
1998–99 Asheville Smoke UHL 4 0 0 0 5
1999–2000 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 47 25 26 51 30
2000–01 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 42 31 34 65 12
2001–02 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 35 13 30 43 12
2002–03 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 31 11 24 35 22
2003–04 Alberta Golden Bears CWUAA 36 14 25 39 32
2004-05 Austin Ice Bats CHL 60 18 22 40 76
2005–06 Bisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne Division 1 28 29 17 46 24

Head coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result
EDM 2023–24 69 46 18 5 (97) 2nd in Pacific 15 10 .600 Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (FLA)
Total 69 46 18 5     15 10 .600 1 playoff appearance

Other leagues

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Team Year League Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish Result
KOO 2010–11 WHL 72 46 21 5 97 3rd in Central Won Ed Chynoweth Cup (POR)
KOO 2011–12 WHL 72 36 26 10 82 4th in Central Lost in first round (EDM)
ERI 2012–13 OHL 29 12 25 4 28 5th in Midwest Did not qualify
ERI 2013–14 OHL 68 52 14 2 106 2nd in Midwest Lost in third round (GUE)
ERI 2014–15 OHL 68 50 14 4 104 1st in Midwest Lost in J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals (OSH)
ERI 2015–16 OHL 68 52 15 1 105 1st in Midwest Lost in third round (LDN)
ERI 2016–17 OHL 68 50 15 3 103 1st in Midwest Won J. Ross Robertson Cup (MSA)
HFD 2019–20 AHL 62 31 20 11 73 4th in Atlantic Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
HFD 2020–21 AHL 24 14 9 1 29 2nd in Atlantic No playoffs due to COVID-19 pandemic
HFD 2021–22 AHL 72 32 32 8 72 7th in Atlantic Missed playoffs
HFD 2022–23 AHL 72 35 26 11 81 5th in Atlantic Lost in third round (HER)
WHL total   144 82 47 15 179   2 playoffs appearances
OHL total   301 216 83 14 446   4 playoffs appearances
AHL total   230 112 87 31 255   1 playoff appearance

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Stephenson, Colin (July 29, 2019). "Rangers hire Kris Knoblauch to coach their AHL team in Hartford". Newsday. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Kris Knoblauch Named Head Coach of the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack". National Hockey League. July 29, 2019. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  4. ^ Bamford, Allison (June 6, 2024). "'Everybody's cheering': Why this small Sask. town is throwing its support behind the Edmonton Oilers". Sports. CTV News. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Kris Knoblauch". Hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  6. ^ Daum, Evan (May 25, 2012). "Kootenay head coach Kris Knoblauch fired". Edmonton Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  7. ^ "Woodcroft fired as Oilers coach, replaced by Knoblauch". NHL.com. November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
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Preceded by Head coach of the Edmonton Oilers
2023–present
Incumbent