Jr. Blues' Rennette out at season's end
On Monday, the Springfield Jr. Blues announced that team general manager and head coach Tyler Rennette will step down from both roles following the 2022-23 season.
Rennette, of North Bay, Ontario, came to Springfield in 2016 as an assistant coach and took over from then-coach and GM Tony Zasowski the following season. Rennette is 131-112-19 following a 5-2 win over the MN Wilderness on Saturday at the Nelson Center. He is tied with Zasowski for third most wins in franchise history.
“It has been an honor and a pleasure to have been able to coach the Jr. Blues,” Rennette said in a team's press release. “I feel very lucky to have coached the young men that have come through Springfield during my time and seeing them continue their hockey dreams at the collegiate level makes the long bus rides worth it.”
Rennette led the Jr. Blues to the North American Hockey League playoffs in each full season he’s been in charge but Springfield currently has an uphill climb to reach the postseason with 26 points and sitting in last place of the NAHL’s eight-team Midwest Division. The Jr. Blues are 13-15-0 in 28 games.
There were no NAHL playoffs in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Jr. Blues did not field a team in the 2020-21 season.
In five seasons, Rennette has placed 37 players in either NCAA Division I or Division III hockey.
“One of the hardest parts of my job is having to say goodbye to our players when they age out,” Rennette said. “Everything else is just hockey.”
Rennette, 43, was drafted 40th overall in the 1997 NHL entry draft by the St. Louis Blues. He played professional hockey for nine seasons, including 267 games with the Peoria Rivermen from the 2000-01 season through 2004-05. He was inducted into the Peoria Rivermen Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012. He scored 119 goals and had 118 assists. In the 2002-03 season, he scored a team-best 42 goals and had 32 assists.
Before Springfield, he coached the Peoria Mustangs of the NA3HL and was 55-31-8 with playoff berths in both seasons.
“I would like to thank my wife, Julie, and my children, Owen, Ryder, and Stella as well as our owner, Dan Ferguson, and all of the staff that have helped me along the way,” Rennette said. “Thank you to the fans and the Springfield community as well for making me feel at home and welcomed from day one.”
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Jr. Blues announce this is last season for Rennette as coach, GM
