Quote:
Originally Posted by czure32
I wondered how long, or even if Kilrea would be selected.
There is definitely a very heavy NHL slant to this draft, so it would be easy to see someone like Kilrea get looked over
the winningest coach in the history of the CHL, and the junior hockey equivalent of Scotty Bowman.
I would argue that Kilrea's accomplishments are even better, as he has done it in junior, where youre turning boys into men, and player turnover is more frequent than in the NHL. When you think about it, in junior, even if you have a superstar player, at most you have him for what, 4 years (maybe 5) before hes gone, to put up the numbers Kilrea has in junior hockey is astounding
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I actually hadn't even thought of him until a couple rounds ago because I was too focused on NHL coaches.
Winning the Memorial Cup is a real accomplishment considering there are 60 CHL teams. So statistically (given the # of years he's coached), he should have been in the Cup twice and won a half of a cup. He's got 5 appearances and 2 cups.
And name me a coach that has ever lasted HALF as many years with the same team as Kilrea has. You'd be hard pressed, there might be one or two, but you'd be hard pressed for sure.
As soon as I thought of him, I was sold instantly. I was worried someone might get wise since we've had some non-NHL players and coaches selected (Russians, Czechs and collegiates, oh my).