6 things to know about new Syracuse Crunch assistant coach Ken Klee

Syracuse, N.Y. -- When you've been as many different places as Ken Klee, you often start doubling back on your tracks.

That happened again for Klee on Saturday morning at the Syracuse Crunch's War Memorial.

Klee got his first look at his latest hockey home, where he will punch the clock as an assistant coach for the Crunch. Klee takes over for former assistant Trent Cull, who left for a position as head coach of the Utica Comets.

The last time Klee saw the War Memorial was the 1994-95 season, when the Crunch made its AHL debut. Klee was a defenseman for the Portland Pirates then, his last season in the minors before establishing himself as NHLer.

That was a long time ago, and in his return on Saturday Klee touched on several topics pertinent to his life and career.

He's used to a transient lifestyle

Klee, 46, was born in Indianapolis and his father was an engineer for ATT. The family moved several times, including stops in Colorado and Kansas City. He played youth hockey in Toronto and then collegiately at Bowling Green.

He skated for AHL teams in Baltimore and Portland, and then 934 career NHL games for Washington, Toronto, New Jersey, Colorado, Atlanta, Anaheim and Phoenix.

It's fitting that his wife is a realtor. He said he lived in 16 houses during his NHL career, moving around a family that at one point included three sons (now ages 19, 17 and 12) and two Great Danes.

"Me, living in all the different places, just tells me that players can come from anywhere,'' Klee said. "I don't think there's just hockey hotbeds of Minnesota or Boston or Ontario.''

He knows how to coach winners

Klee comes to the organization after spending two seasons as head coach of the U.S. Women's National Team. Under his guidance, the team won world championships in 2015 and 2016.

"I had a great experience with them. I think very similar to the players I'm expecting to have here in Syracuse, they want to get better,'' he said. "There's nowhere else for them (the women) to go. So they want to make sure they stay there (on the national team), as opposed to (players) here. Players want to get better and try to make the jump to the NHL. So, any time you can work with athletes who aren't at their ultimate goal, it's a good time. I'm expecting a really good experience here.''

He's a rarity: a winning coach who was let go

Heading into the Olympic year of 2018, Reagan Carey, director of women's hockey for USA Hockey, decided to make a change behind the bench of the national team.

It was an odd move, considering that Klee seemed to have the program rolling heading into its peak stretch. But Klee said he understood the decision, explaining that Carey wanted to bring in a fresh voice.

"When I took the job, I think that she felt that the four years, they go in quads of four years, and I think she thought that the four years with the previous coach kind of strained coach-player relationships,'' he said. "And she let me know up front, hey, I'm probably going to try more than one head coach. But, we never lost so it was never really a good time to change. She ended up deciding to change anyway after four straight tournament wins (two world championships and two Four Nations Cups). But she's the boss and that was her decision. It was definitely a great experience for me. I loved every bit of it.

"Things happen. As I've told some other people, if I would have got to coach the Olympic team and win a gold medal, which I hope they do and expect them to, I would have been just a year later looking for a job like I was come this March. My goal was to get back in the pro game. I think I did a tremendous job with the women's team. Obviously, our record indicated that. I'm excited to get to work here and have a similar trajectory.''

So it's understandable that he's impressed with the Lightning's stability

"I think (it's) just the track record, and talking with other coaches, other people involved in hockey, what a great job (GM) Steve Yzerman's done, what (assistant GM Julien BriseBois') done, developing their structure, their culture, all those things. It's super-appealing to be a part of an organization that they're not in disarray, they know the direction they're heading. They are very focused, and that's always a good thing.''

He's got a head start on Crunch coaching chemistry

Klee was a long-time teammate of Syracuse second-year assistant Jeff Halpern with Washington. And Halpern worked with Klee as a camp coach with the women's team.

"I got to have him as a young player (as teammates), kind of mentor him, teach him how to be a pro a little bit. And then obviously he had an unbelievable career,'' Klee said. "Then, when he went into coaching, it was kind of funny because, again, he started with me at a USA camp. I think I had him for two or three weeks there, just trying to make that transition of player to coach. He's been doing it now a couple years. He's, I'm sure, doing a really good job of getting better and learning. Learning the patience factor.

"There is a difference in playing and coaching. You have to be selfish (as a player) because there's always someone fighting for your job. There's always someone getting drafted the next year that's going to take your job. Whereas a coach, it's more about the players. It's more about trying to move the players on and make sure you're developing the players.''

Tampa has great prospects, but he can relate to projects as well

Not a lot of people expected Klee to have any kind of NHL career, much less such a long one. He was drafted in a round that no longer exists: the ninth, in 1990.

"I just think players are going to be able to make their own path,'' he said. "It doesn't matter where you're drafted, or even if you're not drafted. If you have a drive and desire and a work ethic, obviously you need a skill base as well, but things can happen. It doesn't matter where you're from. It doesn't matter what round you're drafted in. If your goal is to get to the NHL, if you can put the time in and keep learning, keep getting better, keep pushing yourself to get better everyday, I think you have a chance to do that.''