New Jets hire has proven track record

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This article was published 05/07/2016 (3390 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was what qualifies as a “cold hire,” as Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice went outside his own circle of relationships to come up with the addition of Thunder Bay, Ont., native Jamie Kompon to the team’s coaching staff.

Kompon, 49, was named to the assistant coach’s post last weekend, replacing Pascal Vincent, who moved to be the head coach of the organization’s AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose.

“The network of the NHL usually is people you have a familiarity with, a personal relationship with,” Maurice said Tuesday night at the MTS Iceplex, where he was watching the development camp scrimmage. “In a lot of ways, it’s because of the stress and the pressure that the coaching staffs are under that you want to know that guy in the foxhole with you.

“Expertise is first. There’s some talent to this game and you have to research and find the best talent you can. So in that network of head guys, and we’re talking about a lot of Stanley Cup guys, when I asked ‘Who’s your best? Who’s out there?’ Jamie’s name kept coming up.

“So I made a point of meeting him.”

That initial meeting took place in Buffalo at the NHL Draft and lasted more than three hours.

After 10 minutes, it’s “just two guys talking hockey like kids in a candy store,” Maurice said. “There’s a real connection there. As you see, he’s very direct and very clear. That’s his coaching style. I’m looking for that kind of man.

“When you get the same reports over and over about the kind of person, which is a critical part of the coaching staff, the expertise is there. I got very, very comfortable early on and I was exceptionally pleased when he was excited to come to Winnipeg.”

Kompon, who joins the Jets after spending two seasons as head coach and GM of the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks, gave nearly an identical report of the first meeting in Buffalo.

“A great connection between him and I,” Kompon said of their initial interview. “I just felt comfortable and confident with the direction he was going. It came about real quick.”

Kompon’s NHL experience includes two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks, including one Stanley Cup win in 2013. Prior to that, he spent six season as an assistant with the Los Angeles Kings, where he also won a Cup.

Kompon also has experience as the Kings’ director of amateur development and had nine prior years of experience in various roles with the St. Louis Blues.

He said the Jets’ job interested him because of the team’s trend.

“A young team,” he said. “I’ve been in L.A. with young players. I’ve been in Chicago with young players. I was in Portland for two years coaching young players. I really believe this team is trending in the right direction. Under Paul’s leadership, and Kevin (Cheveldayoff), Larry (Simmons) and Zinger (Craig Heisinger) I believe we’re headed in the right direction here.”

Asked directly if he can fix the team’s power play, which was 30th and last overall last season, Kompon said: “We haven’t talked about the power play. I have experience with the power play with teams I’ve been on but I’m here to support and add my knowledge.

“I’m willing to give whatever information I can to make us a top team in the NHL.”

Kompon said one of the great influences on his coaching career was John Brophy.

“When I played in Hampton Roads, he had a big impact in terms of how hard you have to work, how hard you have to compete and how hard you have to dig in every day to do the right things and never be shortchanged or shortchange your teammates,” he said.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca