Oilers coach Knoblauch admits he was a Canadiens fan growing up
When Edmonton Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch steps behind the bench tonight, it will be against his childhood team.
The rookie NHL head coach met with the media this morning ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Montreal Canadiens. He admitted he grew up in a household that had an allegiance to the bleu, blanc, et rouge.
“My dad is a Montreal Canadiens fan,” Knoblauch said. “We used to come to Edmonton and Calgary. We did a couple trips because Montreal used to make their West Coast trip after Christmas, so there were a couple of times that we would come and watch the Canadiens.”
Now, the fact that Knoblauch went to Canadiens games as a kid is not definitive proof that he was a Habs fan, but he admitted that if one were to snoop around, they might be able to find some photo evidence of his fandom.
“There are [photos], and there might be a Montreal Canadiens jersey or two in my closet back at the farm,” laughed Knoblauch.
These weren’t blank jerseys, either. When pressed for more details on whose Habs jersey he wore, he gave out a couple of names that harkened back to his hometown of Imperial, Saskatchewan and are sure to be memorable for fans of a certain age.
“The jerseys that I have are Stephane Richer, Lyle Odelein, Brian Skudland, some Saskatchewan roots cause that’s where I’m from,” Knoblauch explained. “A lot of grit, and some goal scoring.”
Rest assured, you can bet that Knoblauch will be putting aside those childhood biases to make sure his Oilers team has the best chance at winning tonight. The team is solidly in a playoff spot, but they are still chasing the Pacific Division-leading Vancouver Canucks, who still hold an eight-point lead on Edmonton.
Gametime at Rogers Place is set for 7 pm MT on Sportsnet West.
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