HOCKEY MANITOBA’S PROVINCIAL TRIPLE A MIDGET
THE CAPTAINS FROM LEFT:
NICHOLAS CICEK,
BRETT NAMAKA,
GRIFFIN LEONARD AND
BEN COPPINGER
WITH THE SPOILS
OF VICTORY
the past 18 seasons in the same capacity, while Dianne joined them
to share the managerial duties well over a decade ago.
Like many who have spent a lifetime in the game, Krueger grew up
playing in Winnipeg and eventually graduated briefly to the Junior
B ranks.
By his early 20s, he was coaching at the club level at North
Kildonan, Melrose and Chalmers. He then moved on to AA for two
years before taking a position as an assistant at AAA and then head
coach, both at bantam and now midget where he’s been for the past
15 years.
Krueger concedes that winning
and team success are important
when you get to the AAA provincial
level.
The standard of commitment
from the players, parents, coaches
and support staff is sometimes
daunting. But winning is not what
truly measures the success of the
program. For Krueger, there’s a larger criterion to quantify achieve-
ment, which probably explains why he’s been named the Winnipeg
AAA Hockey coach of the year three tim es.
“At the end of the day it’s important for the player to learn about
hockey but also about life,” says Krueger, who is also the Human Re-
sources regional manager for Western Canada at Jeld-Wen, a Win-
nipeg company he’s been employed at for the past 28 years.
Over his time Krueger has graduated players to every higher level
of hockey, from Junior A to Major Junior to Canadian and Ameri-
can university programs to all professional levels of hockey in North
America and internationally.
However, his theme has always remained the same: Helping to de-
velop young men into productive, successful and respectful adults
and contributors to life outside the game.
“I’ve coached guys that have gone on to play in the NHL that
played for the Wild,” he said. “And I’ve also seen others that have
become doctors. For me, that’s just as important.”
That list of former players is quite impressive, including National
Hockey League goalie Calvin Pickard (Colorado), centre Cody Eakin
(Dallas) and defenseman Travis Hamonic (Islanders).
But Krueger has also coached a number of players that have gone
on to other professional careers, people such as Dr. Justin March
and Brett Plouffe who is currently studying medicine. And he re-
cently penned a reference letter for former player Sean Higgins,
who will also pursue medi-
cine.
“There are a ton of kids
that have done a lot of great
things and contributed to so-
ciety,” he says.
One of the more humorous
success stories that Krueger
likes to share is that of for-
mer player Tyson Smith.
Back when Krueger was coaching AA in the city he had Smith as a
goaltender. Today, Smith goes by the stage name Kenny Omega and
is a star in the New Japan Pro Wrestling circuit.
Of course when you’ve enjoyed a level of success as Krueger has
over his minor hockey coaching career the query about aspiring to
a higher level is constant.
“I get that question often,” he says. “Would I like to be able to do
something at a higher level? Sure, it would be fun to experience. But
at this time of my life this is the best fit for me. I just love doing what
I’m doing and I’m having fun doing it. I try to stay in the moment
when it comes to the future.”
Staying in the moment might be easy for Krueger, but based on his
past performance sheet with the Wild, staying out of the spotlight
might be the bigger challenge. n
At the end of the day it’s
important for the player to learn
about hockey but also about life
34 GAME ON
2017 CHAMPIONS EDITION
With added quotes by Scott Taylor