As expected from previous reports, the Vegas Golden Knights have hired Mike Kelly as an assistant coach for their upcoming inaugural season. Kelly had previously worked with head coach Gerard Gallant with the Florida Panthers and Saint John Sea Dogs of the QMJHL. The Vegas coach had this to say about his new assistant:
I am very excited to be working with Mike again. We enjoyed success in both Florida and Saint John and I am eager to bring that success to the Golden Knights. Mike is a great guy with a wealth of hockey knowledge and I couldn’t be happier with the decision to bring him to Las Vegas.
In 2010-11 with Saint John the pair won a QMJHL Championship before going on to hoist the Memorial Cup. They would repeat as Q champions and return to the CHL’s top tournament a year later, though they could not overcome the host team. In Florida, they success last year winning the Atlantic Division and getting the Panthers back to the playoffs, though an early exit at the hands of the Islanders awaited them in the postseason.
The pair will now try to mold the upstart expansion team into something of a culture, though the first few years may be lean on talent up front. There are several options from their Saint John days that could make an appearance, as Tomas Jurco, Stanislav Galiev and Eric Gelinas all played big roles on the Gallant-led teams.