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WHL Spokane Chiefs

Klemm Named Assistant Coach

May 26, 2009 - Western Hockey League (WHL)
Spokane Chiefs News Release


The Spokane Chiefs have announced that former Memorial Cup and Stanley Cup Champion Jon Klemm has been named the Assistant Coach for the 2009-10 season. Klemm played 204 games as a Chief in a three season career that culminated with the 1991 Memorial Cup championship as a 20-year-old captain. The Cranbrook, BC native won a pair of Stanley Cups, 1996 and 2001, with the Colorado Avalanche in his 17-year pro career.

"We think the intangibles he brings to our organization, along with his NHL experience, are going to be great assets to our hockey team going forward," Spokane Chiefs Head Coach Hardy Sauter said.

"This opportunity is an exciting one for me," Klemm said. "I really started to think about coaching the last couple of years. After last year when I played in Germany, I knew it was going to be my last season but I knew I wanted to stay close to the game. Spokane came up right away and the opportunity was exciting."

Prior to his final season in Spokane, Klemm had attended an NHL camp, but didn't know what the future held for him after his junior career was over. "Going in to that year I knew I wanted to have the best season possible."

That May, prior to the Memorial Cup tournament in Quebec City, the undrafted defenseman signed a free agent contract with the Quebec Nordiques, a franchise that would later move to Colorado.

"I'm a big believer in the thought that you're only as good as your teammates and it was fortunate for me we got a chance to play as long as we did and at that level. If it wasn't for the Memorial Cup team I don't know if I have the chance to do what I did the rest of my career."

"The year before we had a young team, lost to Kamloops in a five game series, and we knew going into training camp that we were going to be good," he said, looking back. "Then the Brett's purchased the team and Tim Speltz made a few key deals and we were just having fun out there. When Pat Falloon and Ray Whitney are your two top forwards and have the year that they did it helped make it a pretty good year."

Falloon and Whitney both finished in the top five in the WHL in scoring and were selected by the San Jose Sharks in the first and second rounds, respectively, in the NHL Entry Draft that following summer.

It wasn't until Klemm's fifth season as a pro, and 281 games in the American Hockey League, that he played a full season in the NHL.

Sauter said, "I like the fact that he has had to work for everything he has achieved in his career and that says a lot about his character."

"I knew that the first couple of years I wasn't ready to play in the NHL. For a young defenseman it might take a little bit longer to find a niche. I got enough chances in that time that showed me what I had to do to stick," Klemm said.

His first full year with the Avalanche in 1995-96 resulted in his name being etched onto the Stanley Cup.

"It was weird," Klemm said about his first Stanley Cup playoff. "I was just happy to be there and go through the experience and didn't even take a chance to think about what we were doing. I felt real fortunate to be an unrestricted free agent and get the chance to not only play in the playoffs, but win the Stanley Cup."

It marked the first of 11 straight seasons that he spent in the NHL split between Colorado, the Chicago Blackhawks, where he signed as a free agent prior to the 2001-02 season, and Dallas Stars, where he was traded to in 2003-04.

Klemm signed a free agent contract with the Los Angeles Kings in 2007-08 and spent the season in the NHL and with their AHL affiliate in Manchester. The 39-year-old played 51 games in 2008-09 with the Straubing Tigers in Germany as he finished his playing career.

In 105 career Stanley Cup playoff games, Klemm scored seven goals, 14 points and had 47 penalty minutes. His teams advanced to the post-season nine times as he won Stanley Cups under head coaches Marc Crawford (1996) and Bob Hartley (2001). Klemm also played for Brian Sutter in Chicago and Dave Tippet in Dallas.

"I think I learned a little bit from everyone I played for. The key thing was that they were all very well organized and they wanted to get the best out of their players," Klemm said.

In total, Klemm played 773 career games in the NHL and another 322 in the AHL. Over a 21-year span that began with his debut in the WHL as a 17-year-old Seattle Thunderbird, Klemm played 1,563 games, averaging 74 a season.

Klemm's on-ice reputation was that "He's a no-nonsense competitor that instinctively put the team first," Sauter said.

Of the 413 players that have suited up for the Chiefs over the last 24 seasons, only 49 have Memorial Cup rings and only two of those have Stanley Cup rings, including Ray Whitney and Klemm. Brent Gilchrist is the only other former Chief to win the Stanley Cup.

"We're looking forward for him to share his hockey knowledge," Sauter added. "We know he has a wealth of experience that he can share with any of our players that have an intention of playing pro hockey."

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