McKee ready for first season as Rangers head coach

It’s the job he wanted, but maybe didn’t expect it this soon.

Jay McKee is entering his first season as the Head Coach for the Kitchener Rangers; the team’s fourth bench boss in five years.

Long gone is Steve Spott. Heir apparent Troy Smith was sent back home to Hamilton. Mike Van Ryn also went home, but on his own terms, to be closer to family in Florida. Enter McKee who came to Kitchener from the Erie Otters last season as an Associate Coach.

“This is a position I set a goal to be at,” says McKee. “I’ve been fortunate to work at many different levels, be it college, AHL or the OHL, and to work with guys like Kris Knoblauch [with Erie], who was Coach of the Year and Mike Van Ryn, who was a runner-up for Coach of the Year. I feel like I’ve been able to pull a lot of knowledge from those guys.”

If not them, the coaches he learned from in the NHL have steep resumes themselves – Ted Nolan, Lindy Ruff, Andy Murray and Dan Bylsma.

Knowledge though isn’t something McKee is short on when it comes to hockey. After being a first-round pick in both the OHL and NHL, McKee spent 14 years spread between the Buffalo Sabres, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh Penguins.

It was while in Buffalo, in his first season, he met his Assistant Coach, Matthew Barnaby.

“Matthew, I’ve known for 20-years. His knowledge is vast on the players not only on this team, but in this league. He’s coached a lot of players in this league, including some of the players that have just been drafted; that’s a huge advantage,” says McKee. “He’s an exceptional hockey analyst. He can’t get enough of it. He wants to watch it. He wants to learn. He pays attention to systems and has a passion for the sport.”

Joining the two former NHL mainstays behind the bench this year is Jason Fortier. He was part of the two-man coaching unit in Rouyn-Noranda which took the Huskies to the Memorial Cup Final last year losing to the London Knights in overtime.

“Everywhere he goes, he wins. He’s won numerous championships in the OJHL as a Head Coach, he won the Quebec league last year on a bench of only two coaches, so he clearly put a lot of time and effort in there,” says McKee. “I’m very excited about the opportunity to tap into his brain and his systems and what they did in practice, and his success. With him, he was under contract, so for us to get him that late in the summer, and bring him over here was a huge benefit to us.”

McKee is excited for the possibilities with the new staff. He’s already built great relationships with the players, and saw last year, there are great qualities in the room and on the ice.

McKee points to guys like Greg Miereles, who was only a Ranger for a handful of games last year, his former line mate in “AAA” Nick McHugh and Connor Bunnaman to have a break out year upfront, and sophomores Elijah Roberts and Joseph Garreffa to take the next step.

He says the one attribute they all have, is speed.

“Our scouting staff has done a great job. They’ve been able to bring in guys with speed, but they’ve brought in a lot of skill with those guys as well,” says McKee. “Roberts and Garreffa both provide speed. Adam Mascherin has speed, Mason Kohn; that’s one of the things, as a coaching staff, we have to utilize and make sure we’re using that to our advantage.”

Don’t expect speed though when it comes to the toughest facing the coaching staff – what to do when it comes to the teams overage players. There are five at camp: two forwards – Darby Llewelyn and David Miller – two defenceman — Frank Hora and Dylan DiPierna – and one goalie, Dawson Carty.

The team can keep as many overage players as it wants to start the season, but can only dress three per game. As McKee puts it though, the decision doesn’t just land on the coaching staff or General Manager Murray Hiebert and Assistant General Manager Mike McKenzie.

“Part of that lands on the shoulders of the players,” says McKee. “It’s a group effort. It’s going to be something that’s discussed, and has already been discussed. Murray certainly has the final say on things, but he loves to see what people think. A lot of it will fall on the players, and obviously what our team’s needs are. It’s a good problem to have, and a bad problem to have. You certainly don’t like to have guys with real good experience and leadership qualities you can’t keep around.”

Unlike his team’s style of play, this move is likely to take some time.