Coaches in OHL

[Egresch]

Just want to know your opinion. Who do you think is the best coach in OHL? Specifically, I am looking for coach great in player development not specifically the one who is best at winning the games.

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[AttackSound]

Just want to know your opinion. Who do you think is the best coach in OHL? Specifically, I am looking for coach great in player development not specifically the one who is best at winning the games.

That's something that can be debated.

Are we talking all-time? Recent years? Past decade?

To answer your question in an open-ended fashion there has been many coaches who could be considered best any given year. Just ask each team in the league there has been many coaches for many teams around the league.

I couldn't point out for each team maybe Brian Kelrea from the Ottawa 67's comes to mind for an elite coaches for the league.

 

[nelli27]

Pete DeBoer and George Burnett were two (former) good ones... Don't know where they'd fit into the coaching pantheon though. Roger Nielsen?

 

[StingUpdates]

Interesting question. I've always liked Jay McKee quite a bit. Really like how he has his teams play.

Seems to develop guys pretty well, too.

 

[OMG67]

Good old Bert Templeton needs to at least get a nod.

Kilrea developed talent the best as a coach. He concentrated on developing the players and played simple systems to allow for growth. It hurt when it came to building Championships but it benefitted the players individuually.

I second the nod to DeBoer. I‘d have him as #2 without a doubt. Hunter has to be in the mix there as well. Velucci had a great run in Plymouth and a lot of solid players came out of his program. Dick Todd is pretty much royalty in Peterborough. He’s gotta be in the top 5 mix.

Say what you will about Marty Williamson but he also had a decent number of players graduate his program. Both Barrie and Niagara saw their most consistent success with him behind their benches.

Paul Therriault needs to be at least an honourable mention. The fashion Police would disagree! Probably the best coach in Oshawa During my window.

Butler and Mavety each have a ton of wins but both were clowns.

1> Brian Kilrea
2> Peter DeBoer
3> Dale Hunter
4> Dick Todd
5> Mike Velucci

I’m sure I am missing someone but that would be my list.

 

[Petes1987]

Peterborough Petes head coach, Dick Todd was probably the best OHL coach of his era. He is known for his player development. Not only star players but for turning average players into good players. He was Petes head coach from 1981 until 1993. In his twelve seasons as coach his teams finished first in their division six times, second, two times, third, three times and fifth, one time. They finished first overall two times. All his teams finished above .500.

In the playoffs his teams won 17 playoff series in 12 years. They automatically advanced to either the second round (first round buy) or third round (second round buy), six times by receiving buys. They were awarded the buys because of either their first or second place finishes. They also finished first in a 2nd round, round robin series in 1986. They were in the final four, eight out of twelve years. They played in the OHL Championship series four times and won it twice.

The majority of the players that played for the Petes in these years were drafted by the Petes. In fact there were only sixteen players that played on these teams that had been obtained by trade.

He returned as head coach in 2003 for two seasons. His teams finished first in their division both times and in the conference once. They won six teams playoff series and an OHL Championship.

In total he had 60 players drafted into the NHL and 30 played in the NHL.

Current coach Rob Wilson has similar attributes and I believe is currently one of the best coaches in the league. He is a good player development coach.

 

[Egresch]

Thank you all for your opinion. I was thinking more about current coaches. Basically, if you had possibility to choose one team in OHL who would 'the right coach'?
It is crazy because Kilrea is also known here in Europe. What a legend.

 

[OMG67]

Thank you all for your opinion. I was thinking more about current coaches. Basically, if you had possibility to choose one team in OHL who would 'the right coach'?
It is crazy because Kilrea is also known here in Europe. What a legend.

Kilrea had 32 years behind the bench of the 67’s and missed the playoffs only once.

1194 Wins
Two Memorial Cups
Three OHL Championships
Five other trips to the OHL Finals
Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame

And he scored the first two Franchise goals for the LA Kings as a player.

If Dale Hunter continues in his role with the London Knights, I believe he will eclipse Brian Kilrea as the winningest coach in OHL History. As such, to answer your question, I believe Dale Hunter is probably the best coach currently in the OHL. The volume of players he has graduated to the NHL is very impressive. Twenty years and three championships. Never missed the playoffs. In those years he only lost in the first round FOUR times.

Annually, there will always be a better coach for that particular season but if you had to select one guy currently in the league right now to lead your franchise from behind the bench, without a doubt it would be Dale Hunter. I don’t think he has any want o move to the NHL at this stage either. So, he is likley to remain coaching at the OHL Level until he decides to pack it in and retire.

 

[dirty12]

Thank you all for your opinion. I was thinking more about current coaches. Basically, if you had possibility to choose one team in OHL who would 'the right coach'?
It is crazy because Kilrea is also known here in Europe. What a legend.

Dale Hunter is in a class of his own for player development.

Among current coaches and including more recent coaches that moved on, Richmond tops my list as next best. Five to seven years from first OHL game to the NHL for McLeod, Tippett, Hague, Harley, Schwindt; players leave Richmond’s program ready for the next stage of their lives.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Dale Hunter is in a class of his own for player development.

Among current coaches and including more recent coaches that moved on, Richmond tops my list as next best. Five to seven years from first OHL game to the NHL for McLeod, Tippett, Hague, Harley, Schwindt; players leave Richmond’s program ready for the next stage of their lives.

He is?

Hunter’s in a class of his own for player recruiting. London is way better than anyone at getting guys who are already studs to come join them. I don’t think he’s even top 5 in player development. He routinely buries young players and gives them no opportunities year in and year out. That’s not developing. He relies almost solely on recruiting, which definitely works for him, but let’s call a spade a spade

 

[Generalsupdates]

Current coach Rob Wilson has similar attributes and I believe is currently one of the best coaches in the league. He is a good player development coach.

Wilson will need to drastically improve his 1-8 career playoff record if he’s going to be considered “one of the best coaches in the league” lol. His 99-99 career regular season OHL record doesn’t exactly scream elite coach either

 

[Devin]

He is?

Hunter’s in a class of his own for player recruiting. London is way better than anyone at getting guys who are already studs to come join them. I don’t think he’s even top 5 in player development. He routinely buries young players and gives them no opportunities year in and year out. That’s not developing. He relies almost solely on recruiting, which definitely works for him, but let’s call a spade a spade

Agreed, he doesn’t develop s***. Recruits either legally or illegally I’m sure both. Or Atleast we all know he has before.

 

[dirty12]

He is?

Hunter’s in a class of his own for player recruiting. London is way better than anyone at getting guys who are already studs to come join them. I don’t think he’s even top 5 in player development. He routinely buries young players and gives them no opportunities year in and year out. That’s not developing. He relies almost solely on recruiting, which definitely works for him, but let’s call a spade a spade

Agreed, he doesn’t develop s***. Recruits either legally or illegally I’m sure both. Or Atleast we all know he has before.

Hunter wins, and gets players to the NHL at a greater rate than any; that is why players want to go play for the knights.

 

[Generalsupdates]

Hunter wins, and gets players to the NHL at a greater rate than any; that is why players want to go play for the knights.

If you're going to argue that he's a great recruiter, then yes. But that's not what you said. You literally said "Dale Hunter is in a class of his own for player development." They've been objectively bad at player development for some time now. They're unreal at recruiting, which is why they win. But recruiting and player development aren't the same thing

 

[Bra Wavers]

Wilson will need to drastically improve his 1-8 career playoff record if he’s going to be considered “one of the best coaches in the league” lol. His 99-99 career regular season OHL record doesn’t exactly scream elite coach either

He will

 

[dirty12]

If you're going to argue that he's a great recruiter, then yes. But that's not what you said. You literally said "Dale Hunter is in a class of his own for player development." They've been objectively bad at player development for some time now. They're unreal at recruiting, which is why they win. But recruiting and player development aren't the same thing

You missed the part about Hunter gets players to the NHL at a greater rate than any.
I’m not ignoring the talent Hunter has had to work with. But I think Domi, Mete, Marner, Stranges, Mallioux,…persued Hunter. Hunter’s success rate is his greatest recruiting tool. Several teams/coaches have had periods of great success. Hunter has had great success for the better part of 20 years.

 

[Generalsupdates]

He will

You guaranteeing the Petes win it all this year? I mean under Rob Wilson, how can they not...

 

[Generalsupdates]

You missed the part about Hunter gets players to the NHL at a greater rate than any.
I’m not ignoring the talent Hunter has had to work with. But I think Domi, Mete, Marner, Stranges, Mallioux,…persued Hunter. Hunter’s success rate is his greatest recruiting tool.

You just proved my point. I don't get how you don't understand the difference between developing and recruiting. Every single guy you just named the Hunter's recruited and got to come to them at a much lower draft spot than they should've lol. I'm not saying that LDN doesn't send guys to the NHL (not sure why you keep bringing that up, when that was never said), they're fantastic at recruiting. They are not good at developing.

Convincing Patrick Kane and Matthew Tkachuk to come play for you isn't developing, that's recruiting. Getting Max Domi to refuse to go to Kingston and will only report to you isn't developing. Getting Marner to tell teams he's going to Michigan only for him to immediately sign when you draft him late in the 1st isn't developing.

Again, if I was London I'd do the exact same thing. It's much easier to win being a great recruiter than being a great developer. But this is in response to your comment "Dale Hunter is in a class of his own for player development." which is just flat out wrong. They consistently bury first round picks and rarely play their young guys. That's the opposite of developing.

 

[dirty12]

You just proved my point. I don't get how you don't understand the difference between developing and recruiting. Every single guy you just named the Hunter's recruited and got to come to them at a much lower draft spot than they should've lol. I'm not saying that LDN doesn't send guys to the NHL (not sure why you keep bringing that up, when that was never said), they're fantastic at recruiting. They are not good at developing.

Convincing Patrick Kane and Matthew Tkachuk to come play for you isn't developing, that's recruiting. Getting Max Domi to refuse to go to Kingston and will only report to you isn't developing. Getting Marner to tell teams he's going to Michigan only for him to immediately sign when you draft him late in the 1st isn't developing.

Again, if I was London I'd do the exact same thing. It's much easier to win being a great recruiter than being a great developer. But this is in response to your comment "Dale Hunter is in a class of his own for player development." which is just flat out wrong. They consistently bury first round picks and never play their young guys. That's the opposite of developing.

The part that you ignore is that Hunter’s ability to recruit was born from his ability to develop juniors into NHL players. Tkachuk, Kane, others is less about recruiting than player, agent, NHL team wanting in Hunter’s proven program.

 

[OMG67]

The part that you ignore is that Hunter’s ability to recruit was born from his ability to develop juniors into NHL players. Tkachuk, Kane, others is less about recruiting than player, agent, NHL team wanting in Hunter’s proven program.

I agree with this. HE was instrumental in building an elite program. Coaching isn’t jsut about outing out the pylons and running drills. It is also about off ice training and development. So many people don’t understand how much of a difference it makes when you throw money into your organization for off ice development. Or in some cases, it is even on ice but you have people like Barb Underhill continually working with your kids on skating etc. Other franchises never put the required $$$ in to be able to develop in the same manner.

I understand where Generals is coming from but good organizations still draft well regardless of recruiting. Kilrea used to draft based on ability to skate. He felt that if you can skate, he can make you a better hockey player. If you can’t skate, he can’t do anything with you.

A guy like Hunter still needs to manage ego’s and high expectations. He still needs to have those elite kids progress on the same path they were on before they arrived in London.

 

[Purple Phart]

There have been players who have come through the London Knights program, and have succeeded, not because of Hunter, but rather, in spite of Hunter. Most of those were defencemen.

 

[Hammer9001]

I may be tooting my own horn here, and I'm sure some Kitchener fans will straighten me out but Jay McKee deserves some talk. I will say this, I wouldn't call him the best coach, mainly because he doesn't have a large body of work, however, he took over a team that lost Dave Matsos due to health concerns and a quickly turned over interim coach in Laise.

He then takes a team that who had far less ice time then most due to COVID and somehow drastically improved them in an incredibly short span. Yes, Hamilton was fortunate to be able to load up. Kammerer, Xhekaj (who he also helped develop in Kitchener), Staios and yes...McTavish. However, offensively, the team had 13 of the top 100 scorers in the league, the likes of Morrison, Hayes, Diaco, Mysak and Winterton all benefited substantially from him, especially after the not so hot 2020 part-season.

Also, consider he coached a team that went from 6th to 2nd that took the SSM team in 2018 to 7. Granted he had a decline and a very quick season afterwards, but part of me has to wonder how much of that was roster fatigue.

Again, not saying he is the best, and would like to hear some dissenting opinions here, but I think he's done pretty well in a very short span with clear factors out of his control that could have hindered him. Thoughts?

 

[HockeyPops]

The best players in this league never play here as 18,19,20 year olds. The same goes for coaches. The best coaches are likely the ones that were only here for a cup of coffee.

 

[Hammer9001]

The best players in this league never play here as 18,19,20 year olds. The same goes for coaches. The best coaches are likely the ones that were only here for a cup of coffee.

This I partly agree with.

Yes, the AHL and NHL will take up the best coaches in the sport, but it's a much different thing to coach teenagers and young men then it is to coach adults and some coaches realize this and stay in Junior.

 

[dirty12]

This I partly agree with.

Yes, the AHL and NHL will take up the best coaches in the sport, but it's a much different thing to coach teenagers and young men then it is to coach adults and some coaches realize this and stay in Junior.

And just really like where they are, what they are doing.