Kraken Assistant Coach Reaches 1000th Game Milestone

Seattle Kraken assistant coach Bob Woods coached in his 1000th game on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers. 

A 10th-round pick in the 1988 NHL draft, Woods would never receive the opportunity to play in the NHL but was an effective player in the minor leagues, skating in 751 games in the AHL, ECHL and IHL. 

Woods began the transition into coaching while still playing as an active player, serving as a player-assistant coach for four years. Following his retirement, Woods was hired to be the head coach of Mississippi Sea Wolves in the ECHL and did so for an additional four seasons.

Woods would move to an assistant coach role for the Hershey Bears in the AHL before becoming the head coach for about a season and a half. The Washington Capitals decided it was time to give Woods his first sniff of the NHL life in 2009, promoting him to be an assistant coach of their NHL squad. 

Outside of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons when Woods left the NHL to be the GM/HC of the Saskatoon Blades in the WHL, Woods has served as an assistant coach since his debut with the Capitals.

He's spent time with the Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and now the Kraken. 

The Kraken fell short in Woods' 1000th game, losing 5-4 to the Oilers on the road. Woods is in charge of the penalty kill and the defensive aspects for the Kraken, and while injuries and trades have hampered the Kraken, the team has struggled to be consistent in that aspect.

They rank 23rd in goals allowed per game and 22nd in penalty kill percentage, both marks that could also be better if goaltending faired similarly to the previous season. 

Despite that, Woods has a tremendous history of turning young defensemen into all-star calibre players, and he's attempting to do so now with Ryker Evans. HC Dan Bylsma is a fan of Woods' reputation and believes he can do the same with the Kraken.

“Bob has done a great job with lots of different types of defensemen in different places,” said Bylsma. “There’s John Carlson with Washington; a young Cam Fowler in Anaheim; 21-year-old Rasmus Ristolainen in Buffalo; and Gary Suter, Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba in Minnesota. At every stop, now here, he’s always been able to establish relationships with all those players and every defenseman he coaches to get them playing their best not only for the team but playing their best hockey.”

When you read some of the names Woods has worked with, you'll realize just how long he's been in the NHL and it's a testament to his ability to adapt to the always-changing and evolving game. 

“The game has changed,” said Woods. “Plus, you've got analytics. You have so many more tools now [to evaluate players]. It's become a big part of the game. I think the players are basically still the same, maybe changed a little bit. If you're honest and ask what they think, I find being able to communicate is a big thing then and now. Is it hard to make decisions [about players and playing time]? Absolutely, but I've always believed, if you know it's the right decision, it's not a tough decision ... As coaches, we're always learning. Whenever you think you don't need to learn anymore, you're going to be in trouble. If you don’t you stay up with things, you will be left out.”

As it stands, the Kraken have the sixth-best odds of landing the first overall pick, which could very well be Matthew Schaefer. The Kraken are yet to draft a defenseman in the first round, and if they elect to do so, having Woods with the organization to help develop him could be very beneficial. 

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