| Kris Knoblauch | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1978-09-24)September 24, 1978 (age 47) 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 | ||
| CurrentNHL coach | Edmonton Oilers | ||
| NHL draft | 166th overall,1997 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 1999–2006 | ||
| Coaching career | 2006–present | ||
Kris Knoblauch (born September 24, 1978) is a Canadian professionalice hockey coach and former player who is thehead coach for theEdmonton Oilers of theNational Hockey League (NHL). He had previously been the head coach of theHartford Wolf Pack of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL).[1][2]
He had a total of 13 seasons of coaching experience before joining Hartford,[3] including two seasons as an assistant coach with thePhiladelphia Flyers of theNational 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 appearances in the2024 and2025 Stanley Cup Finals.
Knoblauch is fromImperial,Saskatchewan.[4][1][3] He was a seventh-round pick, 166th overall, of theNew York Islanders in the1997 NHL entry draft,[3][5] but never played at the NHL level.[1] Playing in the position ofwinger,[5] Knoblauch played parts of four seasons of junior hockey in theWestern Hockey League (WHL) from 1995 to 1998 with theRed Deer Rebels,Edmonton Ice andLethbridge Hurricanes. He then played for five seasons with theUniversity 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 aNational Championship during the 1999–00 season.[3] Knoblauch played professionally with theAustin Ice Bats of theCentral Hockey League, before finishing his playing career in France as a member of theBisons de Neuilly-sur-Marne.[citation needed]
Knoblauch began his coaching career as an assistant coach with thePrince Albert Raiders of the WHL during the 2006–07 season. He became an assistant coach with theKootenay Ice of the WHL for three seasons from 2007 to 2010,[3] becoming the Ice's head coach in 2010.[2]
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 theEd 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 theEdmonton Oil Kings in the first round of the WHL playoffs.[2]
Knoblauch interviewed for the vacant head coaching position with theUniversity 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]
Knoblauch became the head coach of theErie Otters of theOntario 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 inCanadian 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 theHamilton 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 2015World U17 Hockey Challenge and assistant coach with Canada at the 2017IIHF 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 asConnor McDavid,Alex DeBrincat,André Burakovsky,[1][3]Connor Brown,Erik Černák,Anthony Cirelli,Travis Dermott,Sam Reinhart andDylan Strome.[3]
Knoblauch was aPhiladelphia Flyers assistant coach during the2017–18 and2018–19 seasons.[1][2]
TheNew York Rangers organization announced on July 29, 2019, that Knoblauch had been appointed the head coach of theHartford Wolf Pack, the Rangers' AHL affiliate team. This marks the first time Knoblauch became a head coach at the professional level. Knoblauch replacedKeith 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 theNew York Rangers' head coach whenDavid Quinn and his staff were placed on the COVID-19 protocol list. In Knoblauch's first game as head coach, the Rangers beat thePhiladelphia Flyers 9–0 atMadison Square Garden. Quinn was out for six games total, the Rangers won four games and lost two under Knoblauch.
On November 12, 2023, theEdmonton Oilers announced that they had hired Knoblauch as their head coach to replace the recently firedJay Woodcroft.[7]
In his first year coaching the Edmonton Oilers, Knoblauch led the team to the2024 Stanley Cup Finals against theFlorida Panthers.[8][9] In the2025 Stanley Cup playoffs he coached the Oilers to a second consecutiveStanley Cup Finals, also against the Panthers.[10]
| 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | OTL | Pts | Finish | W | L | Win % | Result | ||
| EDM | 2023–24 | 69 | 46 | 18 | 5 | (97) | 2nd inPacific | 15 | 10 | .600 | Lost inStanley Cup Finals (FLA) |
| EDM | 2024–25 | 82 | 48 | 29 | 5 | 101 | 3rd in Pacific | 14 | 8 | .636 | Lost inStanley Cup Finals (FLA) |
| Total | 151 | 94 | 47 | 10 | 29 | 18 | .617 | 2 playoff appearances | |||
| 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 | WonEd 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 inJ. 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 | WonJ. Ross Robertson Cup (MSA) |
| HFD | 2019–20 | AHL | 62 | 31 | 20 | 11 | 73 | 4th in Atlantic | Season cancelled due toCOVID-19 pandemic |
| HFD | 2020–21 | AHL | 24 | 14 | 9 | 1 | 29 | 2nd in Atlantic | No playoffs due toCOVID-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 | |||
| Preceded by | Head coach of the Edmonton Oilers 2023–present | Incumbent |
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