PrairieThunder introduce new head coach

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The Bloomington PrairieThunder made a splash on Wednesday afternoon when they announced that Jason Christie has been named the team’s third Head Coach & Director of Hockey Operations. Christie fills the vacancy created by Jerrod Skalde, who resigned the position on August 9th, and will lead the franchise into its fifth anniversary season at the US Cellular Coliseum.
 

“Bloomington PrairieThunder Hockey welcomes Jason Christie as our new coach,” Team President Tim Leighton said. “He is a proven recruiter, a proven trainer, a proven motivator, and a proven winner. Jason played winning hockey in four professional leagues. He has coached in the ECHL and the American Hockey League. His references emphasized that he loves to win and inspires his players to pursue excellence. A coach who leads teams to seven winning seasons in eight years does a lot right, and now he’s going to bring those talents to the PrairieThunder.”
 
Christie, 41, a native of Gibbons, Alberta, has coached in the ECHL for the past eight years, leading the Peoria Rivermen from 2000-05 and the Utah Grizzlies from 2005-09. He holds the sixth best winning record in ECHL history (dating back to 1988) with an overall record of 307-203-66. That includes seven winning seasons in eight years, qualifying for the ECHL playoffs six times.
 
His 217 victories in five seasons in Peoria are the most in Peoria Rivermen history. During his tenure, the Rivermen never finished lower than third place during the regular season. He led the Utah Grizzlies to the Western Conference Finals in 2008.
 
Christie coached in the ECHL All-Star game in 2001 and 2004. He has served as an Assistant Coach for the Chicago Wolves (AHL) for the past two seasons and coached in the AHL All-Star game in 2008. 
 
As a player, Christie was a hard working right wing who played nine pro seasons in the ECHL, AHL and IHL. He helped the Peoria Rivermen win the ECHL Championship as a player/assistant coach in 1999-00. He tallied 56 points (21 G, 35 A) and was named the Co-MVP of the ECHL Playoffs that year.
 
Christie has also shown a strong commitment to community involvement. During his 2007-08 season in Utah, the Grizzlies set franchise records in several community areas. The team made 220 appearances in the community, including over 80 elementary school visits. The Grizzlies also were involved with over 400 non-profit groups during his time with the organization.  
 
This season the Prairie Thunder, along with three other IHL teams and the expansion Evansville Icemen, joined the Central Hockey League this summer and will play in the (Northern) Turner Conference.
 
The PrairieThunder’s 2009-10 record of 31-34-11 was the franchise’s best record in its four-year history. However, after winning eight of its first 12 contests, the team languished toward the end of the season. They lost their last six games, including the season finale against the Port Huron IceHawks, narrowly missing the opportunity to make their first trip to the playoffs.
 
“We can’t dwell on what’s done,” Christie said. “We have to move forward here. It’s about putting a team together that’s going to compete and play hard-nosed hockey. It’s a no-excuse year.”
 
One of Christie’s priorities will be recruiting new players to the team. With less than six weeks until the beginning of CHL training camps, the PrairieThunder has signed just five players to the 2010-11 roster, including their two leading scorers from last season, Craig Macdonald and Jon Booras. John Snowden and Brett Holmberg have also re-signed and defenseman Shaun Arvai was recently added.
 
The Prairie Thunder will open their 2010-11 campaign on Saturday, October 16th against the Missouri Mavericks. The home opener at the US Cellular Coliseum will be held six days later when the Odessa Jackalopes come to town.
  Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com