Oil Kings Rebuild Front Office
5 years ago
The Oil Kings filled a pair of major holes in their front office this morning when Peter Chiarelli announced that Kirt Hill will be the organizations new President and GM while also naming Brad Lauer Head Coach.
Hill, who finished his playing career just six years ago, has fast-tracked his way through the hockey world. He finished his WHL playing career just ten years ago, before spending four years at the University of Waterloo.
After his playing career ended, he spent some time working in the WHL Head Offices before spending last year working as a scout with the Chicago Blackhawks.
By all accounts, calling him just a smart hockey mind is an understatement. I also believe that his experience in the WHL Head Office is very important to remember when judging this hire.
Hill is taking on a roster that has lots of skill. Trey Fix-Wolansky is coming off an 18-year-old season that saw him post an incredible 89 points. He was also selected in the 7th round of the NHL Draft by the Columbus Blue Jackets. They also have Jake Neighbours, their first-round selection from 2017
On the back end, Connor McDonald posted 42 points last year and should improve even more in his 19-year-old season. There’s also Matthew Robertson, who has the potential to be a top ten pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
Hill has already made his first move, hiring Brad Lauer to be the teams new Head Coach.
Lauer is 51 and has acquired a wealth of coaching experience. During his time with the Kootenay Ice, the staff won the Coach of The Year award twice between the years 2002-2007. Following his time in the WHL, Lauer became an Assistant Coach with the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL.
He spent two years in Milwaukee before getting his first of two NHL jobs, the first being with the Ottawa Senators as an assistant to Cory Clouston. Following another AHL stint, he joined Bruce Boudreau’s staff on the Anaheim Ducks bench.
I’m a big fan of the Kirt Hill hiring. I believe that they got a truly smart hockey mind and he should bring some different ideas to a team that could certainly use them at the management level.
On the coaching side, I wasn’t a huge fan of the dismissal of Steve Hamilton. I felt that he deserved a chance to see this thing through. He was a good coach who simply didn’t have a very good roster in front of him, and I wanted to see him get more time.
With that being said, I think they did really well with the hiring of Brad Lauer. This is a coach who has been apart of some very successful staffs at both the junior and pro level. That experience will get him a ton of respect from his players and I expect it to translate to on-ice success.
The young talent on the ice will continue to get better and now the organization has a fresh mind at the helm, and an experienced mind behind the bench, to help them take the next step.
The team still has one more spot to fill. Kirt Hill told TSN 1260’s Jason Gregor today that the team will be bringing one assistant coach onto Brad Lauer’s staff.
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