When Chris Knoblauch took over as head coach of the Edmonton Oilers, the team had lost 10 of its first 13 games and no one on the team was talking about the Stanley Cup.
Since then, no team has won more games in the NHL than him, and Knoblock is a big reason why they made it to the finals. For those who know Knoblock, it's no surprise that he's making the most of his first opportunity to be an NHL head coach.
“He's worked and he's put in the work and now he's getting his opportunity,” said veteran coach Rob Daum, where Knoblock played at the University of Alberta from 1999 to 2004. “Coaches often get over- and over-rated when things are going well or not, but when you consider the circumstances in which Chris took over, I think it's hard to ignore the impact he's had on this team.”
The Oilers entered the finals against Florida and the fall struggles seemed far away, four wins away from the franchise's first championship since 1990. None of this seemed possible under head coach Jay Woodcroft. Knoblock took over from Woodcroft on Nov. 12 and brought a straightforward, calm approach to a star-studded team in need of some stability.
They found that in the 45-year-old man from the Saskatchewan prairies who traveled across North America with his wife, Autumn, and sons, Marek and Emry, after giving up his dream of becoming a police officer to pursue education and put his teaching degree to good use.
“He's not a nag, he's a teacher,” said Shelley Bassin, a longtime junior hockey executive who owned the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters during Knoblock's tenure. “He's a student of the game.”
A decade after coaching Connor McDavid at Erie, Knoblauch is again drawing the best out of the sport's biggest stars and teammates, from Leon Draiseitel to goaltender Stuart Skinner. Daum believes Knoblauch is the same guy he was more than two decades ago, and that at 45, his approach hasn't changed.
“He doesn't get too excited, he doesn't scream in your ear,” said Detroit forward Alex DeBrincat, who played three seasons for Erie's Knobrock and won an OHL title in 2017. “I think he keeps a calm atmosphere on the bench, just sticks to the game plan and plays his game. I think that's a big reason why the teams he leads are successful.”
Like DeBrincat, Florida Panthers forward Sam Reinhart also credited Knoblock with contributing greatly to his development during their junior years together with the Kootenay Ice of the Western Hockey League.
“It seems like a lifetime ago,” Reinhart said, “and he's obviously had a lot of success since then, so it's no wonder he got to where he is now.”
World Junior Summer Showcase
USA Hockey announced Wednesday that the 2024 World Junior Summer Showcase will be held July 26-Aug. 3 at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.
Teams from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden will compete in training camps to evaluate their respective national teams ahead of the World Junior Championships, which will be held in Ottawa from Dec. 26, 2024 to Jan. 5, 2025.
Sunday, July 28
▶ USA White vs. Finland, 1 p.m.
▶ USA Blue vs. Sweden, 4 p.m.
Monday, July 29
▶ USA Blue vs. Finland, 1 p.m.
▶ USA White vs. Sweden, 4 p.m.
Wednesday, July 31
▶ USA vs. Finland, 4 p.m.
Friday, August 2
▶ Canada vs. Finland, 1 p.m.
▶ Sweden vs. USA, 4 p.m.
Saturday, August 3
▶ Sweden v Finland, 1 p.m.
▶ USA vs. Canada, 4 p.m.
NHL to broadcast in American Sign Language
Bryce Christianson, who translated the NHL's annual pre-Stanley Cup Final address into American Sign Language for the first time in 2022, worried it might be a one-off, his only chance to open the doors to hockey for the deaf community.
Two years later, it's hard for him to contain his emotions as the league takes another big step.
The Stanley Cup Final will be the first time a major sports league will broadcast games in ASL, with a deaf announcer providing play-by-play and color analysis for each game of the series between Edmonton and Florida, with Game 1 taking place on Saturday.
“This is a great step to bring deaf people on screen and connect the deaf community with people who look like them,” said Christianson, founder and CEO of PXP, whose broadcasts are available on ESPN+ and Sportsnet+. “It's groundbreaking that the NHL is on board with this and believes in this. It's really historic. And they've committed to continuing to do this.”
This next step in the NHL's partnership with PXP, a company that works to make sports more inclusive through interpretation, comes on the heels of another historic moment: Last weekend, TNT aired the U.S. Women's Deaf Soccer National Team's game against Australia in ASL, with reporter Melissa Ortiz on-screen providing commentary on the game in ASL.
For the Cup final, that's certainly true for Jason Altman, PXP's chief operating officer and a third-generation deaf person, and Noah Blankenship of Denver's Office of Deaf Services: Having this kind of representation is more important than closed captioning because it directly serves the deaf community better than having members of that community read words about the game.
“Having us listen to real-time game play and commentary directly in American Sign Language, rather than re-interpretation, is something the deaf and hard of hearing community really wants,” said Kim Davis, the NHL's senior vice president of community engagement, growth initiatives and legislative affairs. “It's what they deserve. It makes the game really meaningful to them. They're not essentially being re-interpreted from another language. They're hearing the game live, in their language, in the way they understand it best.”
Getting this far is another achievement for Christianson, an ASL interpreter born to deaf parents who has spent years convincing teams and leagues to try something like this. His connection with the NHL began in 2021 when he met with vice president of youth strategy and hockey culture Paul LaCarruba and ended with Christianson pleading with just one more person to buy into his idea to serve the deaf community.
Christianson said that persona paved the way for Lacalle to become the translator for Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly two years ago, during a news conference that's a chance to bring the most important game of the season to an underserved demographic.
“We know there are millions of deaf and hard of hearing hockey fans out there, and many who have yet to become involved with the sport,” Lacalva said. “We're building access by the deaf community, for the deaf community, and there's no better platform to gauge the response than the Stanley Cup Final.”
The purpose is not to celebrate a win, but to gauge the reaction. Christianson said the plan is to continue doing this not just for this series but for the NHL as well, making it a test of sorts that could lead to changes and improvements being made for next time, depending on the direction it takes.
“I think it's very brave of the NHL to say, 'We want to do this,'” Christianson said. “We're all going to go in and do our best and then we'll come back and debrief and try to improve every step of the way.”
This could serve as a blueprint for other organizations, and Davis, who has learned a lot about ASL and communicating with the deaf community, would be thrilled if the NHL is the first to try something like this, and not the last.
“We're doing something that no other major league has ever attempted before, and that's a broadcast and experience by deaf people, for deaf people,” Davis said. “We're proud of that, and we want to continue to support the community that we're loyal to. If other leagues want to emulate that, I think it's the highest compliment they can pay, so let's do that.”
NHL Finals
(Florida vs Edmonton)
▶ Game 1: Saturday, Florida, 8 p.m.
▶ Game Two: Monday, Florida, 8 p.m.
▶ Game 3: Thursday, June 13th, Edmonton, 8pm
▶ Game 4: Saturday, June 15, Edmonton, 8 p.m.
▶ Game 5: Tuesday, June 18, Florida, 8 p.m.
▶ Game 6: Friday, June 21, Edmonton, 8 p.m.
▶ Game 7: Monday, June 24, Florida, 8 p.m.
Eastern Conference
Round 3
Florida vs. New York Rangers
(Panthers win 4-2)
▶ Game 1: Florida 3-0
▶ Game 2: New York 2-1 (OT)
▶ Game 3: New York 5-4 (OT)
▶ Game 4: Florida 3-2 (OT)
▶ Game 5: Florida 3-2
▶ Game 6: Florida 2-0
Western Conference
Round 3
Edmonton vs Dallas
(Oilers win 4-2)
▶ Game 1: Edmonton 3-2 (2OT)
▶ Game 2: Dallas 3-1
▶ Game 3: Dallas 5-3
▶ Game 4: Edmonton 5-2
▶ Game 5: Edmonton 3-1
▶ Game 6: Edmonton 2-1
Round 2
Eastern Conference
Carolina vs. NY Rangers
(Rangers win 4-2)
▶ Game 1: Rangers 4-3
▶ Game 2: Rangers 4-3 (2OT)
▶ Game 3: Rangers 3-2 (overtime)
▶ Game 4: Hurricanes 4-3
▶ Game 5: Hurricanes 4-1
▶ Game 6: Rangers 5-3
Boston vs. Florida
(Panthers win 4-2)
▶ Game 1: Boston 5-1
▶ Game 2: Florida 6-1
▶ Game 3: Florida 6-2
▶ Game 4: Florida 3-2
▶ Game 5: Boston 2-1
▶ Game 6: Florida 2-1
Western Conference
Colorado vs Dallas
(Stars win 4-2)
▶ Game 1: Avalanche 4-3 (overtime)
▶ Game 2: Stars 5-3
▶ Game 3: Stars 4-1
▶ Game 4: Stars 5-1
▶ Game 5: Avalanche 5-3
▶ Game 6: Stars 2-1 (2OT)
Edmonton vs Vancouver
(Oilers win 4-3)
▶ Game 1: Canucks 5-4
▶ Game 2: Oilers 4-3 (OT)
▶ Game 3: Canucks 4-3
▶ Game 4: Oilers 3-2
▶ Game 5: Canucks 3-2
▶ Game 6: Oilers 5-1
▶ Game 7: Oilers 3-2
