Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Time For A European Head Coach In The NHL?

12/03/2019 at 1:44pm EST

from Luke Fox of Sportsnet,

Rikard Gronborg believes it’s only a matter of time.

And with the disturbing crackling of the old boys coaching network in recent days, the most qualified coaching candidate outside of North America might be on to something.

Nineteen years have passed since the last European coach was hired to stand behind a National Hockey League bench — Finland’s Alpo Suhonen (Blackhawks) and the Czech Republic’s Ivan Hlinka (Penguins) landed gigs in 2000-01. Perhaps the National Hockey League is getting ripe for a broader worldview when it comes to its coach hiring policy.

Thirty per cent of the league’s players are European, and 55 per cent of 2019-20’s rookie class is European.

“That tells you where the trend is going. So, I think it’s just a matter of time that NHL teams in the U.S. and Canada look over here at some of the excellent European coaches,” Gronborg says.

“Hockey is hockey. The challenge is for the NHL to open up a new chapter. Hiring coaches with some new backgrounds is only healthy.”

continued

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by damndogrevenge in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 3 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 11 minutes ago
Comment by Paul in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 15 minutes ago
Comment by bezukov in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 17 minutes ago
Comment by Paul in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 19 minutes ago