Ralph Krueger named new head coach of Edmonton Oilers -NHL offseason Update
Edmonton Oilers finally got a new head coach after firing long-time member of the team, Tom Renney, as the Canadian franchise announced Ralph Krueger names to take over on Tuesday, June 26, 2012.
Renney had been given multiple seasons to boost the struggling Edmonton Oilers team but failed to do so as they ended the past two hockey years as one of the bottom ranked teams.
Kruger has the experience of leading the Edmonton team, but as an associate coach under Tom Renney last season.
With a new team and new position, Krueger has a clear strategy for what he plans on doing in order to take the Oilers team to new levels.
“A head coach must develop a strategy to win that is in line with the tools and skill level at his disposal. If you have offensive skill you can attack; if not, rely on defence and counter punching. We would take our power play foundation and attacking principles
into our five-on-five game,” he said in a follow-up comment after the draft,” Krueger said.
One great aspect that is being discussed about Ralph Krueger is his ability to improve the playing style of the club. Krueger led the power-play side of playing last season and boosted the team from the 27th position at 14.5 percent to the third
spot at 20.6 percent.
According to hockey pundits, if Krueger manages to do the same in an overall perspective for the upcoming season, Edmonton Oilers may very well be back in the playoffs.
“I’m not a defensive coach,” added Krueger about what specialisation he deals with. “I’m a coach who looks at the skills of my players and coaches them accordingly.”
Edmonton Oilers truly have a lot of potential as this year was their third straight in which they got a first overall pick in the annual entry draft. Oilers have three top-level players at the moment, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov.
Now, all they need is someone to harness all that talent and unleash it when needed, which is something Edmonton looks towards Ralph Krueger to do.
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