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New York Rangers fill Wolf Pack head coach vacancy, hire Kris Knoblauch

By Travis Novak

ST CATHARINES, ON - FEBRUARY 28: Head Coach Kris Knoblauch of the Erie Otters looks on from the bench during an OHL game against the Niagara IceDogs at the Meridian Centre on February 28, 2016 in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
ST CATHARINES, ON - FEBRUARY 28: Head Coach Kris Knoblauch of the Erie Otters looks on from the bench during an OHL game against the Niagara IceDogs at the Meridian Centre on February 28, 2016 in St Catharines, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images) /
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MISSISSAUGA, ON – NOVEMBER 27: Coach Kris Knoblauch of the Erie Otters gets an explanation of a call for the referee during OHL game action on November 27, 2015 at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images)
MISSISSAUGA, ON – NOVEMBER 27: Coach Kris Knoblauch of the Erie Otters gets an explanation of a call for the referee during OHL game action on November 27, 2015 at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Graig Abel/Getty Images) /

The New York Rangers AHL coaching search came to an end when the team announced the hiring of former Flyers assistant coach, Kris Knoblauch.

A key piece of the 2019-20 New York Rangers puzzle fell in to place when the team announced the hiring of former Philadelphia Flyer assistant coach, Kris Knoblauch as the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack.

The 40-year old Knoblauch will be replacing Keith McCambridge who was let go by the team this past April after two seasons of mediocre hockey. Last season the team finished in eighth place with a record of 29-36-7-4 in the 2018/2019 season. He had led the team to a sixth place finish in his first year with a record of 34-33-9.

It wasn’t just the poor records that doomed him, but also the fact that Hartford failed to serve as an adequate feeder system for the Rangers.  None of their AHL players were able to make an impact in the NHL and in fact, defenseman Libor Hajek seemed to show more progress on a big league level than he did in the minors.

Knoblauch becomes the seventh head coach in Hartford Wolf Pack history. Knoblauch has a considerable amount of experience under his belt with seven seasons as a head coach in Canadian Junior hockey, winning a WHL championship with the Kootenay Ice in 2011 and an OHL Championship in 2017 with the Erie Otters. He had a record of 82-47 in two seasons with Kootenay Ice and 216-83 in five seasons with the OHL’s Erie Otters. Notable players he helped develop include Connor McDavid, Alex Debrincat and others who have made it to the NHL level.

Knoblauch had been drafted by the Islanders in the seventh round of the 1997 Entry Draft.  He went on to play five years as a winger at the University of Alberta before one year as a pro with Austin in the Central Hockey League in 2004-05.  He entered the coaching ranks in 2006-07 as an assistant with the Prince Albert Raiders.

It will be interesting to see if Knoblauch can develop a strong power play unit in Hartford as it’s well known that most of his time with the Erie Otters consisted of strong power play units. The new head coach of the Wolf Pack will be expected to develop what is now one of the deepest prospect pools the Rangers have had in their 93-year history.

Knoblauch’s hiring comes at a critical time in a full rebuild that’s been taking place in the New York Rangers organization for the past two seasons. Hartford Wolf Pack General Manager Chris Drury and Knoblauch will work to assemble the remaining coaching positions under Knoblauch now that the head coaching vacancy has been filled.

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