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RiverKings' Kevin McClelland Named CHL Coach of the Year
Tuesday, Mar. 20th, 2007
Memphis RiverKings Head Coach Kevin McClelland has been selected as the recipient of the 2006-2007 Central Hockey League Coach of the Year award following balloting among all CHL Head Coaches. The award is ‘presented annually to the Central Hockey League coach adjudged to have contributed most to his team's success.' In his second year with the club, McClelland has orchestrated a dramatic turnaround for the playoff-bound RiverKings, currently 22 games over .500 (38-16-6) with four games remaining in the regular season. McClelland made several significant adjustments to his roster prior to the season after the club finished with a record of just 22-37-5 and out of the playoffs in 2005-2006, and has his team currently fourth overall in the CHL standings.
McClelland and the RiverKings have shown significant improvement at both ends of the rink this season. Last year's club finished 15th and last in goals allowed, averaging 3.97 goals against per game, while this season's club has improved to 8th in the CHL at 3.23. Offensively, the RiverKings rank second in goals scored per game this season at 3.65, seven slots up on last year's ninth ranked unit at 3.23.
“Mac” played 14 seasons and 588 games in the National Hockey League, winning four Stanley Cup Championships with the Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the mid to late 80's. Prior to joining the RiverKings behind the bench last season, McClelland was the head coach at the junior level in the Western Hockey League for two seasons and was an assistant for five seasons with the American Hockey League's St. John's Maple Leafs.
Finishing second in balloting for 2006-2007 Coach of the Year honors was Ken McRae of the Corpus Christi Rayz, who have secured their first playoff appearance since the 2000-2001 season while members of the Western Professional Hockey League prior to the CHL/WPHL merger in May of 2001. McRae has his club 13 games over .500 with two games left to play in the regular season.
Additional upcoming CHL award recipients to be announced include the All-CHL and All-Rookie teams (Wednesday), the CHL Man of the Year, Rick Kozuback Award and Rookie of the Year honorees (Thursday) as well as the Most Outstanding Defenseman and Most Outstanding Goaltender winners on Friday. The CHL Most Valuable Player recipient will be announced Monday, March 26th, along with the winner of the Joe Burton Scoring Champion award. Already announced earlier were the recipients of the CHL Athletic Trainer of the Year (Youngstown's Mike Ermatinger) and CHL Equipment Manager of the Year (Oklahoma City's Brandon Rose) awards.
McClelland and the RiverKings have shown significant improvement at both ends of the rink this season. Last year's club finished 15th and last in goals allowed, averaging 3.97 goals against per game, while this season's club has improved to 8th in the CHL at 3.23. Offensively, the RiverKings rank second in goals scored per game this season at 3.65, seven slots up on last year's ninth ranked unit at 3.23.
“Mac” played 14 seasons and 588 games in the National Hockey League, winning four Stanley Cup Championships with the Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the mid to late 80's. Prior to joining the RiverKings behind the bench last season, McClelland was the head coach at the junior level in the Western Hockey League for two seasons and was an assistant for five seasons with the American Hockey League's St. John's Maple Leafs.
Finishing second in balloting for 2006-2007 Coach of the Year honors was Ken McRae of the Corpus Christi Rayz, who have secured their first playoff appearance since the 2000-2001 season while members of the Western Professional Hockey League prior to the CHL/WPHL merger in May of 2001. McRae has his club 13 games over .500 with two games left to play in the regular season.
Additional upcoming CHL award recipients to be announced include the All-CHL and All-Rookie teams (Wednesday), the CHL Man of the Year, Rick Kozuback Award and Rookie of the Year honorees (Thursday) as well as the Most Outstanding Defenseman and Most Outstanding Goaltender winners on Friday. The CHL Most Valuable Player recipient will be announced Monday, March 26th, along with the winner of the Joe Burton Scoring Champion award. Already announced earlier were the recipients of the CHL Athletic Trainer of the Year (Youngstown's Mike Ermatinger) and CHL Equipment Manager of the Year (Oklahoma City's Brandon Rose) awards.
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