Hajt Named Monarchs Assistant Coach
July 8, 2014 - American Hockey League (AHL)
Manchester Monarchs News Release
MANCHESTER, NH - The Manchester Monarchs, the primary affiliate of the 2014 Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings, have named Chris Hajt as the club's new assistant coach, Monarchs General Manager Rob Blake announced today.
Hajt joins the staff of Monarchs Head Coach Mike Stothers, who was named head coach of the Monarchs on July 1.
Hajt, 36 (born on July 5, 1978), joined the Guelph Storm as an assistant coach during the 2008-09 season, and he most recently served as the team's assistant general manager. The Storm has made the playoffs in each of his six seasons with the team, including this past season when it won the Ontario Hockey League championship. Guelph represented the OHL at the 2014 Memorial Cup, losing in the championship game to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Hajt also played his junior hockey at Guelph from 1994-98. The defenseman played 222 regular-season games over four seasons there, recording 92 points (22-7092), 212 penalty minutes and a plus-25 rating. He appeared in two Memorial Cup championships as a player, first in 1996, and then again in 1998, reaching the championship game before falling to Portland. Hajt also represented Team USA in the 1997 and 1998 World Junior Championships, winning a silver medal with the United States in 1997.
A native of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Hajt was drafted in the second round (32nd overall) of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers, and he appeared in six regular-season games during his NHL career (one game with Edmonton in 2000-01; five games with Washington in 2003-04). His father, Bill Hajt, was a long-time Buffalo Sabres defenseman (1973-87) who was drafted in the third round (33rd overall) of the 1971 NHL Entry Draft.
A veteran of 477 regular-season American Hockey League games, Hajt most recently played for the Lowell Lock Monsters during the 2005-06 season. He also played for the Hamilton Bulldogs (1998-02) and the Portland Pirates (2002-05) during his eight-year AHL career, recording 91 points (20-7191), 337 penalty minutes and a plus-14 rating. He also appeared in 33 AHL postseason games, collecting eight points (2-68), 18 penalty minutes and a plus-1 rating.
Hajt's final professional season as a player was in 2006-07, as he skated over-seas in both Germany and Finland.
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