Vegas Golden Knights: Three things to know about Steve Spott

There was some significant news to digest on Tuesday as the Vegas Golden Knights announced the hiring of Steve Spott as an assistant coach.

In what shouldn’t be seen as surprising news, the Vegas Golden Knights have reunited new Head Coach Peter DeBoer with his longtime assistant.

Spott will join the Vegas coaching staff this week and will immediately get down to work to prepare for the Golden Knights’ contest against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.

DeBoer and Spott go way back having worked together in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kitchener Rangers and the Plymouth Whalers, before the duo joined forces again in San Jose with the Sharks.

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Spott is vastly experienced in the hockey world and at the NHL level, and we thought we would shed some light on the newest assistant coach of the Vegas Golden Knights by revealing three facts about Steve Spott…

1. DeBoer and Spott share an incredible bond

As already mentioned, Vegas Golden Knights Head Coach Peter DeBoer and his new assistant go back a long way.

Becoming instant friends as teenagers, Steve Spott served as assistant to DeBoer with the Kitchener Rangers, a partnership that drove the Rangers to a Memorial Cup win in 2003.

Spott then followed DeBoer to the San Jose Sharks where the duo again combined for success, leading the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final in 2016.

But there is a powerful backstory to the bond that DeBoer and Spott share.

As detailed in this outstanding story by The Toronto Sun back in 2016, DeBoer and his wife Sue tragically lost one of their twins due to complications on Sept. 1, 2002.

The other baby, Matt, was safely delivered and has thrived ever since, but the loss of one of his babies crushed DeBoer.

Spott was there for his friend, however, and did everything he could to help DeBoer through the tragedy.

That event laid the foundations for an ironclad bond that will never be broken, and it is an incredible story that you can read in full here.

And Peter DeBoer and Steve Spott will now continue their unbreakable friendship in Las Vegas with the Golden Knights.

2. Spott’s wealth of experience

Steve Spott has already carved out a long and varied career as a coach, and his resume makes for interesting reading.

As already mentioned, Spott began life as a coach alongside Peter DeBoer with the Plymouth Whalers and the Kitchener Rangers in the OHL, although he did serve as Head Coach of both Seneca College and the Markham Waxers prior to his move to the OHL.

After DeBoer departed the Rangers in 2008 to head to the NHL, Spott assumed Head Coach and General Manager duties of Kitchener, leading them to a record of 187-121-32 and two Western Conference Final appearances in five seasons.

Following that success, Spott went on to help Team Canada win Gold as an assistant coach at the under-18 Ivan Hlinka Memorial tournament in 2008, in addition to winning a Silver Medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championships in 2010 and a Gold Medal as Head Coach of Team Canada under-18’s at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in the Czech Republic in 2011-12.

Spott then became Head Coach of the Toronto Marlies in the AHL, leading the Marlies to a Northern Division Title and a record of 45-25-4, before spending a season as an assistant coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Then old friend Peter DeBoer came calling and Spott joined the San Jose Sharks, boasting a record of 198-129-34 to go along with an appearance in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

As a player, Spott recorded 75 goals and 73 assists for 148 points in four seasons with Colgate University in New York from 1986-90.

3. What Spott will bring to the table

Okay, so this isn’t so much a fact as to what Steve Spott will bring to the party for the Vegas Golden Knights.

First and foremost, Spott is a trusted lieutenant and friend of Head Coach Peter DeBoer, so expect Spott to take on a lot of responsibility.

He will no doubt help run the bench for DeBoer and be a valuable asset given his wealth of experience.

While with the San Jose Sharks, Spott was responsible for the defense before being fired with DeBoer on Dec. 11, 2019, and I can see Spott being given the responsibility of working with the Golden Knights blueline.

Prior to that, Spott also ran the power play for the Sharks and he was responsible for helping San Jose to achieve the 3rd best power play in the NHL in 2015-16 (22.6%).

So, all in all, I think Steve Spott’s role with the Vegas Golden Knights is going to be varied and I can see the assistant having a big say in both the power play and the defense.

But, and perhaps more importantly, Peter DeBoer now has someone behind the bench and in the room that he really trusts and can lean on, and I think that will be important for the Vegas Golden Knights going forward.