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CHICAGO – Jeremy Colliton, named after the Chicago Blackhawks after Joel Quenneville was fired on Tuesday.
But taking over the Blackhawks (6-6-5), who have lost five straight and are sixth in the Central Division, Colliton has to adapt much faster.
"The challenge is to hit the ground running," Colliton said. "… it's just communication with everyone, as early as possible, with as many as possible, so that everyone is on the same page and we know what the plan is.
[RELATED:[RELATED:Quenneville turned Blackhawks into Stanley Cup champions]
Colliton, at 33 the youngest coach in the NHL, takes over for Quenneville, 60, who is second in NHL wins with 890 (Scotty Bowman, 1,244). Quenneville was 452-249-96 in 11 seasons with the Blackhawks and won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015.
Assistants Kevin Dineen and Ulf Samuelsson were also fired Tuesday. Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite and assistant Don Granato will remain on Colliton 's staff, and Barry Smith, formerly the Blackhawks director of player evaluation, will be an assistant.
Rockford of the American Hockey League at its first Western Conference Finals, where it lost to Texas. The Blackhawks believe Colliton can have the same impact in the NHL.
"Chicago's general manager, Stan Bowman said," Watching the way his teams play and watching the way he handles the team and his strengths as a coach. "… Jeremy [has] had a lot of success for a guy who did not have a coach, not only last year with our Rockford team, but prior to that. "
Video: Blackhawks head coach
Colliton coached Mora IK in Sweden for four seasons, was 98-57-18, and helped it get promoted to the Swedish Hockey League in his final season (2016-17). He was hired by Chicago to replace Ted Dent in Rockford.
"Rockford," Rockford general manager Mark "Rockford, general manager of the Rockford Bernard said.
"The one thing I loved about Jeremy is the positivity he brings to the rink. We are going to learn from it, grow and get better, and we want to succeed and we want to succeed and we are willing to work with them. "
Blackhawks forward John Hayden played 24 games for Rockford last season, plus 13 in the playoffs.
"I just remember the locker room having the right vibes all the time," Hayden said. "The most recent memory for the success of our playoffs, how do we manage our team, how are we doing and how are we doing?" "
Colliton had six points in New York Islanders from 2005-11, and will make his NHL coaching debut Thursday when Chicago plays the Carolina Hurricanes at United Center (8: 30 μM ET, NBCSCH, FS-CR, NHL.TV).
"Jeremy's a very calm individual," said Bernard. "I really do not know what he's doing." "He's calculated." I think he'll take a deep breath tonight and enter his real, full workday. [Wednesday]. He's vibrant, full of energy and ready to make this team his own. "
Handy photo courtesy: Chase Agnello-Dean / Chicago Blackhawks
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