In the American Hockey League, turnover is a staple, and head coaches come and go. It makes the few who remain behind the bench a fascinating part of the league. How do they do it?
Everybody knows about the hot seat, and in the American Hockey League, no seat is hotter than that of the head coaches. Some last one season, a few last past two, and in a league known for turnover, coaches epitomise that.
Few people talk about the cold seat. The handful of head coaches who have managed to stay out of the news and avoid the pressure that comes with this league. It’s an art form to remain a head coach year in and year out, and some have mastered it.
Considering how much things change behind the bench, there’s a good chance even the most passionate AHL fan doesn’t know who the longest-tenured head coach is. It’s Karl Taylor, who was hired in 2018 by the Milwaukee Admirals. The longest-tenured in the Eastern Conference is Geordie Kinnear, who just completed his fifth season with the Charlotte Checkers (and ninth with the Florida Panthers affiliate, which includes his time with the Springfield Thunderbirds).
Having a long tenure in the AHL can feel like a backhanded compliment. After all, the best coaches in the AHL are in the NHL after a few seasons. Praising a coach for having a long AHL tenure is comparable to praising the team’s penalty kill (indicating they take a lot of penalties) or noting how many saves the goaltender made (hinting they allowed a lot of shots).
That said, it takes a certain mindset and a talent to coach that long in any league, especially a league where coaches come and go. It’s fascinating to see how Taylor, Kinnear, and the other coaches who have led teams for multiple seasons have done it.
A Steadiness Behind The Bench
The message stays the same. Kinnear and Taylor don’t waver from game to game, week to week, or year to year. They’ve had the same coaching style and philosophy since day one, and that’s not easy to do in a league that demands change.
And the players notice. They realize when a coach is preaching a message they believe in. They know when a coach is authentic and, likewise, when a coach is a fraud. Kinnear is a tough coach to relate to at times and not everyone’s cup of tea. That said, nobody will deny he’s an authentic coach who’s had the same message every season.
It’s not always the message the players want to hear. It’s not always player-friendly, from the intense practices to the scratches from the lineup. However, the coaches whom the players believe in and know what they are getting from them end up getting the most out of their group.
Playing To Their System
Both Kinnear and Taylor have their teams play the way that they want them to. It’s not how the NHL team plays per se or the way that the players are built. Instead, it’s the way that they feel hockey should be played.
The Checkers play a fast, high-pressure, high-volume style and have no problem generating 40 shots on the net. “It’s what we believe in with how the game should be played. It’s different but we’ve had success,” Kinnear noted in a conversation with The Hockey News. The Admirals, meanwhile, are built from the net out and have always won with great defense and better goaltending.
Of course, many teams aren’t willing to let their coaches play their systems. However, the teams that do often see the most success. The Checkers aren’t always a mirror image of the Florida Panthers, and the Admirals don’t look like the Nashville Predators. Both AHL teams are successful, and this allows the prospects to come into the NHL ready to play right away.
The Arts & Sciences Of Coaching
A common line that coaches will say is that there are arts and sciences to the job. The most knowledgeable coach can dive into the Xs and Os, but if they can’t get the buy-in, it’s not worth much. Likewise, some coaches have their teams running through a brick wall but there’s nothing innovative about how they play, and teams can easily figure them out.
The older some coaches become, the more involved they become in the relationship aspect of the job. Kinnear and Taylor relate to their players and understand them better than most. They weren’t hired for that reason but it’s become the reason they’ve stayed in the AHL as long as they have.
Likewise, what keeps them behind the bench is their ability to balance everything. They are technical and, at the same time, a player's coach who can relate while also holding them accountable.
John Gruden was hired by the Toronto Marlies in 2023 and given the time to build up a team in his image. It took a few years but he found an ideal balance with the right group, resulting in a Calder Cup title this summer. It took Gruden a few years, and other teams should take note, as patience with the AHL team will pay off in the long run. It’s something Kinnear and Taylor have proven and something the Marlies proved as well.
