The LA Kings have completed their coaching staff with the addition of Newell Brown, who joins Jim Hiller’s staff as an assistant coach.
Brown, 62, joins the Kings staff from the Anaheim Ducks, where he spent each of the last three seasons. Brown has 27 seasons of coaching experience at the NHL level and, combined with his time in the AHL and NCAA, Brown has 37 years of coaching experience to bring to the organization.
Instant analysis
Brown is a veteran of the league and a coach who naturally had interest elsewhere before signing with the Kings.
Since 1996, he has been an NHL assistant coach without any gap in his work history. He has worked in Southern California, during three different stints with the Ducks, including one during the team’s only Stanley Cup championship in 2007. Anaheim is one of five NHL teams he has worked with in his time as coach in the league.
Having a more veteran assistant coach, with a first-time head coach, doesn’t seem like a bad decision. It also meets the criteria that Hiller suggested when he joined us on All The Kings Men. Hiller and Brown have never worked together in the NHL and that seemed to be Hiller’s preference. He has DJ Smith on his staff and that couple knew each other quite well from their time in Toronto. A big reason why Smith chose this opportunity with the Kings and decided to stay on staff. Adding Brown gives the Kings a unique, veteran voice, someone who could operate differently than the status quo.
“It takes different parts, people have to do different things that ultimately complement each other, so that’s exactly what has to happen,” Hiller said. “Not everyone can be the same. You have to have different pieces and for me, as a leader of the coaching staff, I have to understand where my strengths are and where my weaknesses are, and I have to fill those gaps. So, it’s not just about ‘I like this guy and I like this guy,’ it’s how they fit together, they make me stronger and then they make us stronger as a group.”
This statement, although not the main content, also gives us clarity about the rest of the coaching staff that remains in place. Smith’s title is associate coach, while assistant coach Derik Johnston, goalkeeping coach Mike Buckley and video coordinator Samson Lee were mentioned in the release as remaining in place, keeping everything else the same as the group that finished the season. Buckley received rave reviews in his first season with the organization from both recently re-signed David Rittich and veteran Cam Talbot. Johnston has received praise from players for the individual work and skill drills he performs with the group, while Lee is one of the best in the business in his role, remaining the only constant across several different coaching staffs they have employed. the Kings. .
In terms of roles and responsibilities, Brown’s area of expertise is clear. He has worked with power play units during his time in the NHL and that is an area he will likely help with in Los Angeles. Naturally, that’s Hiller’s background as well, and he maintained those responsibilities after being named the team’s interim head coach. Last week, however, Hiller noted that he would need to give up day-to-day oversight of the team’s power play. That could fall to Brown, who has helped in that area in previous stops. Working with a young Anaheim team didn’t pay off, but when Brown was with Vancouver in his last stop, the Canucks averaged more than 20 percent during his tenure. Given that Hiller is likely to retain influence in that area, on a unit that has generally performed well since he joined the organization, it’s an area that makes a lot of sense.
From the official team statement –
Brown, 62, joins the Kings organization after serving as an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks for all three seasons (2021-24). Brown has been an assistant coach in the NHL since the 1996-97 campaign, beginning with a two-year stint behind the bench for the Chicago Blackhawks. In total, Brown has 27 seasons of coaching experience at the NHL level, having been an assistant for Chicago (1996-98), Anaheim (1998-00; 2005-10; 2021-24), Columbus Blue Jackets (2000-04 ). ), Vancouver Canucks (2010-13; 2017-21) and Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes (2013-17).
Prior to coaching in the NHL, the Cornwall, Ontario native coached the Adirondack Red Wings in the American Hockey League (AHL) for four seasons, from 1992 to 1996. Brown, who played forward for the Michigan State Spartans during four seasons, he began his coaching career at his alma mater and served as an assistant coach for the Spartans for three seasons before taking over as head coach of the Michigan Tech Huskies. For two seasons, from 1990 to 1991, Brown led the Huskies to a combined 29-47-4 overall record.
Brown was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the eighth round (158th overall) of the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. From 1978 to 1980, he skated two seasons for his hometown Cornwall Royals in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. (QMJHL), where his four points in five tournament games (4-0=4) helped the Royals capture the 1980 Memorial Cup. Brown recorded 202 points (73-129=202) in 156 college games for the Spartans . He played one season of professional hockey in 1984-85, splitting time between the Fredericton Express of the AHL and the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the International Hockey League.
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