NHL veteran Jay McKee takes the reins for the franchise’s inaugural AHL season, bringing 802 games of experience to lead the Hammers following a successful tenure in Hamilton.
The New York Islanders announced on X that they have hired Jay McKee as head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Hammers ahead of their inaugural season.
McKee, 48, was a former 14th overall pick by the Buffalo Sabres in 1995. The left-shot defenseman went on to record 125 points (21 goals, 104 assists) in 802 career regular season games over the course of a 14-year NHL career.
The first 10 seasons of his career were played in Buffalo before a three-year stint with the St. Louis Blues (2006-09), concluding his NHL career with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2009-10.
After just a year remove from the NHL, McKee began his coaching career, first serving as a volunteer assistant coach at Niagra University in 2010-11.
Despie being on the younger side for head caoches, McKee's got the experience, which includes two seasons as the head coach of the Hamilton Bullodogs (2021-2023), when they were still an OHL team:
The Hockey News learned that McKee was also a finalist for the Bellville Senators, the Ottawa Senators' AHL affiliate's head coaching gig.
The Islanders, who leave Bridgeport after 25 years, elevated Rocky Thompson to Pete DeBoer's staff, which created the Hamilton head coaching vacancy.
The expectaion, at this time, is that Thompson's two assistants, David Cunniff and Chad Kolarik, will serve on McKee's staff.