The St. Louis Blues announced that longtime assistant coach Steve Ott will be taking over the duties of the AHL-affiliated Springfield Thunderbirds. The move comes after current coach Steve Konowalchuk was relieved of his position following the team's horrific start to the season.
Ott, who has been behind the Blues bench for the last nine seasons, just took his first step at being head coach Jim Montgomery's successor. Eventually, there will be a time when a new head coach will have to take the reins, and if the Blues can do it by using somebody as ingrained and rooted as Ott, it would be an easy transition.
Not to say that Montgomery will not have a long and prosperous career as the main man behind the bench for the Blues, but eventually, a change may come. Ott could be a valuable asset for this team, as the players he will work with now might play for him again at the NHL level later.
You may also remember Ott from his playing days, as he was a member of the Blues from 2014 through 2016. He played in 122 games, scoring three goals and adding 14 assists for 17 points. He was a demon at the face-off dot, with a career win percentage of 55.5% on the draw. He has been a huge help to developing centers like Robert Thomas and Dalibor Dvorsky, and now he gets to work on all of the upcoming prospects in the AHL, directly.