The Philadelphia Flyers have hired Kris Knoblauch as an assistant coach, general manager Ron Hextall announced Wednesday.
Knoblauch had been head coach of the OHL's Erie Otters since November 2012 and posted 50-win campaigns in each of his four full seasons behind the bench. Erie won the OHL championship this past season, but lost to the host Windsor Spitfires in the Memorial Cup final.
"Kris has had great success at the junior level with the Erie Otters and Kootenay Ice," Hextall said. "He's coached a lot of good young offensive gifted players. We feel he is a real good fit with our group and we're excited to have him in our organization."
Former Otters players Knoblauch coached who are currently in the NHL include forwards Connor McDavid, Andre Burakovsky, and Connor Brown, as well as Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Strome and Chicago Blackhawks prospect Alex DeBrincat.
He also worked with top young talent as an assistant for Canada at the 2017 World Junior Championship, where the team won silver.
Knoblauch was a seventh-round pick of the New York Islanders in the 1997 draft, but never played an NHL game. He did play professionally in the Central Hockey League and in France.
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