Windsor Spitfires head coach Rocky Thompson takes job in Chicago
Spitfires GM Warren Rychel says he's received 30 calls regarding team's head coach vacancy
After a thrilling Memorial Cup win before a home crowd, Windsor Spitfires head coach Rocky Thompson is moving behind the bench of the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves.
Thompson will take over as the head coach of the Wolves, the farm team of the NHL's newest franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights.
"I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity," he said. "Chicago is a tremendous hockey community, and I look forward to helping the Golden Knights develop top players on and off the ice."
Thompson, 39, coached the Spitfires since 2015. In May he helped light Windsor abuzz with a heroic Memorial Cup championship that saw the junior hockey team win in four straight games — a victory that came after being knocked out of the first round of the Canadian Hockey League playoffs.
Before his journey began with the Spitfires, Thompson was an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers in 2014-15 after spending four seasons as an assistant coach with that city's AHL farm team, the Oklahoma City Barons.
"It was my first opportunity as a head coach," Thompson said, speaking to media Thursday morning. "Bob Boughner, Warren Rychel took a chance on me and the experience that I gained from that was huge."
GM Rychel told media the team hopes to hire Thompson's replacement in two or three weeks.
"I've had 30 phone calls [from] coaches, they know it's a good place to play, they know Windsor-Essex is a good place to live," he said. "There's a lot of options, but maybe looking within is good."
The Golden Knight's general manager George McPhee made the announcement Wednesday, heaping praise on the new coach.
"As a player, he was competitive, tough, team-oriented and hard working," McPhee wrote in a media release. "As a coach, he is now coming off a Memorial Cup Championship season with the Windsor Spitfires."