Mike Kitchen

Mike Kitchen
Date of birth	February 1, 1956
place of birth	Newmarket , Ontario , Canada
size	178 cm
Weight	82 kg
position	defender
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft	1976 , 3rd round, 38th position Kansas City Scouts
WHA Amateur Draft	1976 , 7th round, 83rd position Toronto Toros
Career stations
1973-1976	Toronto Marlboros
1976-1982	Colorado Rockies
1982-1984	New Jersey Devils
1984-1985	Maine Mariners

Michael Elwin "Mike" Kitchen (born February 1, 1956 in Newmarket , Ontario ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player and current coach who worked for the Colorado Rockies and New Jersey Devils in National Hockey from 1973 to 1985 League has played. From 2010 to 2017 he was an assistant coach with the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL and won two Stanley Cups with the team . Since June 2019 he has been working in the same position at the Florida Panthers . His brother Bill was also a professional ice hockey player.

Career

Mike Kitchen began his career as a hockey player with the Toronto Marlboros , for which he was active from 1973 to 1976 in the Canadian junior league Ontario Hockey Association and with whom he won the J. Ross Robertson Cup and then the Memorial in the 1974/75 season Cup , the final tournament for the championship of the Canadian Hockey League , won. He was then selected in the 1976 NHL Amateur Draft in the third round as a total of 38th player by the Kansas City Scouts . Although he was drafted in the same year by the Toronto Toros from the World Hockey Association , but the defender decided on the contract offer of the Scouts. Before the start of the season, however, the Kansas City Scouts were relocated to Denver , Colorado , where they spent the following six seasons under the name Colorado Rockies in the National Hockey League . During these years, Kitchen was always on the ice for the Rockies. He also played some games for their farm team , the Fort Worth Texans , in the Central Hockey League . When the Colorado Rockies were also relocated in 1982, Kitchen stayed in the franchise and joined their successor team, the New Jersey Devils . After two years he left this and signed with the Maine Mariners from the American Hockey League , where he ended his career in 1985 at the age of 29.

For the 1989/90 season, Kitchen received a contract as an assistant coach in his hometown with the Newmarket Saints from the American Hockey League. In the same role he worked from 1990 to 1998 with the Toronto Maple Leafs , and then for six years with the St. Louis Blues in the NHL. During the 2003/04 season , the Canadian took over the position of head coach for the Blues from their longtime coach Joel Quenneville . In this position he worked for a total of two and a half years, with the 2004/05 season being canceled due to the lockout . After a weak start to the season with only seven wins in 28 games, Kitchen was dismissed at the beginning of the 2006/07 season and replaced by Andy Murray . The following season he signed as an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers , where he worked in this position until 2010. In July 2010, Kitchen was hired by the Chicago Blackhawks , where he worked as an assistant coach with Mike Haviland and supported head coach Joel Quenneville in his role.

After seven years and two Stanley Cup successes in Chicago, the Blackhawks dismissed him after the 2016/17 season. After a hiatus of two years, during which he was assistant coach of the Canadian national team at the 2018 Spengler Cup , the Florida Panthers hired him again as the new assistant to head coach Joel Quenneville in June 2019 .

Achievements and Awards

• 1975 J. Ross Robertson Cup win with the Toronto Marlboros
• 1975 OMJHL First All-Star Team
• 1975 Memorial Cup win with the Toronto Marlboros
• 1975 Memorial Cup Tournament All-Star Team
• 2001 Heroes of Hockey Game

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	8th	474	12	62	74	370
Playoffs	1	2	0	0	0	2

Web links

• Mike Kitchen at hockeydb.com (English)
• Mike Kitchen at legendsofhockey.net (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ blackhawks.nhl.com, Blackhawks add Mike Kitchen to coaching staff, re-sign Mike Haviland