New Clayken assistant coach Aaron Schneekloth has been hoping to reach more NHL destinations than he had hoped to reach since his childhood in Calgary in the 1980s.
During his hometown of Flame and the Edmonton Oilers dynasty, professional hockey in Alberta was always the NHL at its undisputed heyday. Starting from 1983-1990, the two teams have played eight consecutive Stanley Cup finals (winning six games), while young hockey player Schneekloth dreams of one day reaching the NHL himself.
But until last month, after playing and coaching for more than forty years, Schneekloth finally got the chance. He agreed to join a Kraken staffer led by new head coach Lane Lanbert, who had previously played on the ice for 19 years and served on the current Colorado Eagles and numerous professional teams behind the bench.
“This is the ultimate goal,” Schneekloth agreed. “But you want to find your own path and your journey forward.”
Schneekloth's path is quite unique, and eventually, his childhood NHL dream came true late in the hockey life of a coach who turned 47 on Tuesday. He really focused on his journey to his destination, which he felt reinforced when a coach who worked to hone his craft instead of climbing a ladder.
“I believe you have to stay here, in your position,” he said. “I think that’s the only way to build growth and respect. I don’t believe in running and chasing the next job. I think it’s important to be rooted and respected in your position.
“This is the only way you can succeed.”
A Cracon team that hopes to recreate the success of the 2022-23 playoff season will benefit from some rooted approaches. The team is more powerful than either or both of the elite stars in overall depth and balance, requiring a consistent, diligent approach to checking the self at the door.
Schneekloth learned to park his self early in his career as a defender. His professional stopover includes serving with the lower-level South Carolina Yellow Star, New Mexico Scorpion and Austin Ice Bats, and the stronger AHLs in Grand Rapids and Houston.
He joined Colorado when the Hawks then played in the Central Hockey League. Seven years later, when he retired, they entered the ECHL and started over a dozen seasons as assistant and head coaches in three different professional leagues.
When Colorado was promoted to the AHL game, he eventually won two ECHL titles in the first two years after being promoted to the Hawks head coach. When Cronin left the NHL two years ago to become the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks, Schneekloth once again took over the Eagles' top job, overall at 83-46-15.
His success has made people talk about throughout the hockey world, although Schneekloth had already reached an agreement with his position a long time ago and did not assume that any NHL tickets were imminent. Kraken's phone number stood out a bit, as Schneekloth had no other connection with the organization, rather than playing for former North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol, where he won the NCAA title in 2000.
“I honestly didn't expect to answer any calls,” he said. “Obviously, coaches at this level are like players. I mean, everyone wants to advance and reach the highest level. I've been working in the AHL for seven years – two as head coaches and five as assistants. I also saw some of the opportunities Greg Cronin has gained over the years. But you never know.”
He felt “ecstatic” when Kraken called and quickly felt his “strong connection” with new head coach Lambert. Any hesitation to return to the assistant's hesitation, rather than having the AHL head coach quickly remind himself of his expiration journey.
“These are steps for my entire career,” Schneekloth said. “ECHL assistant, ECHL head coach. AHLAHL head coach assistant. It feels like this is the right step for me to check the next box and be on the NHL bench.”
Despite this, he has gone from a new organization that he has spent nearly twenty years to come. Schneekloth is a Hawks legend who was named the ECHL Defender of the Year in 2012 after being named the CHL’s Most Outstanding Defender in 2009 and 2010.
He is a member of the CHL All-Year Team and the Eagles All Decade team, and he leads the Colorado franchise with historic points (356), goals (111) and assists (245).
But he is now a rookie in the Kraken organization and NHL level. Any impression he has made from here is first.
It helped him stay in touch with former Crecon coach Hakstol – who served as an assistant last week at the Hawks' parent Colorado Avalanche Club – who “familiar with” the group Schneekloth, which is the personnel and Seattle itself. Schneekloth said he intended to wait until Kraken hired him and then talk to Hakstol or anyone else, wanting to “browse my process by yourself” without any external influence.
Like Schneekloth, Hakstol never coached or played at the NHL level, and then broke into the Philadelphia Flyers bench a decade ago. As for his own NHL debut, Schneekloth plans to believe in his experiences – feeling like they are better prepared for the NHL dream than ever before.
“No doubt,” he said. “I mean, I don't have an NHL career. My AHL career isn't very big. So my path is different. But obviously, coaching the AHL team and working with the NHL organization every day gives you some idea of how the game plays and how the players react and how they play at the next level.”
His own journey finally reached a level. He hopes for a new place to start.
