Confirmed with Link: Blues hire Konowalchuk as AHL head coach

[Blueston]

Konowalchuk named head coach of Springfield Thunderbirds | St. Louis Blues

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis Blues President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Doug Armstrong announced today the team has named Steve Konowalchuk the head coach of its AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Konowalchuk, 51, spent last season as an associate coach with the AHL’s Colorado...

www.nhl.com

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[STL fan in MN]

Cool. I have absolutely no opinion on this. I recall his name as a player from 20ish years ago but know nothing about him as a coach.

 

[Majorityof1]

Seems to have bounced around between jobs outside of juniors a bit. Not sure if that's a red flag or not. I'll trust the Blues hiring process over me piercing a resume together from the NHL com news blurb.

I'm with Stl in MN. I really don't know enough to have an opinion.

 

[jura]

poor man's Ilya

 

[JMCx4]

Not sure how many candidates were out there, but this seems like a resume shuffling decision by the Blues organization. If they saw something in him that said: "This guy fits well in our player development plans." then that's a good sign for seeing quality prospects start filling holes in the Blues' roster. Otherwise, it could just be a cheap hire.

 

[mk80]

He's definitely got a mix of experience as a head coach, assistant coach, and pro scout between the WHL, AHL, and NHL.

One thing that is interesting is we seem to quietly be turning over the entire AHL staff, Daniel Tkaczuk had been the assistant under Bannister since 2018 and took over as the interim T-Birds head coach when Bannister became our interim, both he and Jordan Smith another Springfield assistant who was hired after his stint as the Soo Greyhounds Associate Coach are both absent from the Thunderbirds Hockey Operations page at the moment as of 5/22/24.

There is no announcement of them being fired, or parting mutually.

Hockey Operations | Springfield Thunderbirds

Springfield Thunderbirds hockey operations and coaching staff, featuring head coach, assistant coach, general manager, etc.

www.springfieldthunderbirds.com

 

[Blueston]

He's definitely got a mix of experience as a head coach, assistant coach, and pro scout between the WHL, AHL, and NHL.

One thing that is interesting is we seem to quietly be turning over the entire AHL staff, Daniel Tkaczuk had been the assistant under Bannister since 2018 and took over as the interim T-Birds head coach when Bannister became our interim, both he and Jordan Smith another Springfield assistant who was hired after his stint as the Soo Greyhounds Associate Coach are both absent from the Thunderbirds Hockey Operations page at the moment as of 5/22/24.

There is no announcement of them being fired, or parting mutually.

Hockey Operations | Springfield Thunderbirds

Springfield Thunderbirds hockey operations and coaching staff, featuring head coach, assistant coach, general manager, etc.

www.springfieldthunderbirds.com

i have no idea as to their coaching skills, but there has been talk that we might hire another coach (aside from guys leaving speculation, this was additive). might 1 or more of them be coming to st. louis?

 

[Ranksu]

 

[STL fan in MN]

View attachment 874712

Tanev gets the notoriety but Konowalchuk is the OG psycho team picture taker.

 

[mk80]

i have no idea as to their coaching skills, but there has been talk that we might hire another coach (aside from guys leaving speculation, this was additive). might 1 or more of them be coming to st. louis?

Possibly they could be coming up to join Bannister, but I think there would have been an announcement of some sort. instead of their bio pages just scrubbed from the Springfield website

 

[Majorityof1]

Possibly they could be coming up to join Bannister, but I think there would have been an announcement of some sort. instead of their bio pages just scrubbed from the Springfield website

Doubtful. Bannister and Army have gone on record saying we are staying with the rest of the coaching staff that was in place this year. They could add one guy, I guess. But it not more than that,

 

[Celtic Note]

Tanev gets the notoriety but Konowalchuk is the OG psycho team picture taker.

Oh the horror!

 

[GoldenSeal]

Folks leaving quietly and their bio is wiped from the team site with no fanfare kind of concerns me. It's not necessarily bad or good or parkay, but it should at least raise an eyebrow.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

Folks leaving quietly and their bio is wiped from the team site with no fanfare kind of concerns me. It's not necessarily bad or good or parkay, but it should at least raise an eyebrow.

I'm not sure what fanfare there really could be for an AHL assistant job. I couldn't name a single one of the AHL assistants for any team.

 

[GoldenSeal]

I'm not sure what fanfare there really could be for an AHL assistant job. I couldn't name a single one of the AHL assistants for any team.

I mean 'fanfare' can mean those things as well as 'media attention' like the dictionary states, like maybe a press release which is absolutely common on all levels of damn near anything. But what do I know?

 

[Celtic Note]

It is strange there was no mention, but I am not sure I find it concerning.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

I mean 'fanfare' can mean those things as well as 'media attention' like the dictionary states, like maybe a press release which is absolutely common on all levels of damn near anything. But what do I know?

Have they issued press releases when hiring AHL assistants? I don’t remember ever seeing one.

I agree an announcement would be nice, but there also has to be an interested press who takes up the story. Maybe no one considers it newsworthy.

 

[stl76]

It is strange there was no mention, but I am not sure I find it concerning.

Is it even uncommon for this sort of thing to happen? I genuinely have no idea.

Regardless this is so low of my list of concerns it barely registers haha

 

[Celtic Note]

Is it even uncommon for this sort of thing to happen? I genuinely have no idea.

Regardless this is so low of my list of concerns it barely registers haha

With nothing really to report on right now, I would have expected something small written. It’s not a big deal though. Could just we waiting to say something when the new coaches are announced.

 

[mk80]

Have they issued press releases when hiring AHL assistants? I don’t remember ever seeing one.

I agree an announcement would be nice, but there also has to be an interested press who takes up the story. Maybe no one considers it newsworthy.

A press release is common for assistant coach hires even at levels lower than the AHL. The Thunderbirds one for when Jordan Smith was hired is here for example.

There usually is some mention from a team when assistants are not retained, fired, or part ways mutually so the lack of anything on two coaches from Bannister's staff is more weird than concerning. Especially during the offseason where the team news is at a slower pace.

 

[Stupendous Yappi]

A press release is common for assistant coach hires even at levels lower than the AHL. The Thunderbirds one for when Jordan Smith was hired is here for example.

There usually is some mention from a team when assistants are not retained, fired, or part ways mutually so the lack of anything on two coaches from Bannister's staff is more weird than concerning. Especially during the offseason where the team news is at a slower pace.

Thanks.

I wonder if their statuses are not completely determined yet. As in, maybe offered a different role in the organization and have time to consider. I can't think of any reason the management would silently fire the guys. Or maybe someone who was responsible for that type of press contact just screwed up.

 

[GoldenSeal]

Have they issued press releases when hiring AHL assistants?

Duuuuude...

Press Releases gets attention to the product and help get tickets or that product attention and sales, you'd be surprised some of the wild stuff that's had press releases. Hires, Fires, Sunshine and Sicknesses, Babies born and what the person or product is up to today, just to name a very small few. Hell, even high school sports and activities have press releases. To say it's extensive is an understatement.

 

[ChicagoBlues]

whiskey tango foxtrot

 

[STL fan in MN]

Thanks.

I wonder if their statuses are not completely determined yet. As in, maybe offered a different role in the organization and have time to consider. I can't think of any reason the management would silently fire the guys. Or maybe someone who was responsible for that type of press contact just screwed up.

I would assume their current contracts go to 6/30/24 so this is most likely the case. Maybe one or more of the assistants were in the running for the HC role. Now that they didn’t get it, maybe they’ve been offered to return as assistants or maybe they’ve been told they won’t be returning. But as of today, they’re still likely employed and exactly how the coaching staff which shake out will be clearer in July.