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Nashville Predators give minor-league coach his chance

Josh Cooper, The Tennessean, Dec. 3, 2011

It’s much easier now for Ian Herbers than it was three years ago.

As head coach of the East Coast Hockey League’s Johnstown Chiefs, he had to do everything. And by everything, he means all functions surrounding the team.

“From travel to housing to video to practices and games,” Herbers said. “That has helped prepare me for this situation.”

Now the new coach of the Milwaukee Admirals in the American Hockey League has help, from interim assistant Martin Gelinas to General Manager and Predators assistant GM Paul Fenton, to the parent organization in Nashville.

Herbers has paid his dues long enough to have people to fall back on.

“It’s nice having the support,” Herbers said.

He didn’t expect to become coach of the Admirals so soon. On Monday, Coach Kirk Muller bolted Nashville’s AHL affiliate to become head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes. Muller had taken over the Admirals after the Predators promoted Lane Lambert to Nashville last summer.

Fortunately for the Predators, a prolonged search for Muller’s replacement was not needed. They already had someone on site in Herbers. No interim tag was placed in front of his new title.

“Had it not been for Kirk Muller’s availability, Ian would have been coach when we promoted Lane,” Predators GM David Poile said. “There’s no hesitation now in hiring him as the head coach, from myself to Barry Trotz and Paul Fenton, Marty Gelinas, all the people who work with Ian on a regular basis. We are very happy to have him as head coach in Milwaukee.”

Last summer, when the Predators moved Lambert from Milwaukee to Nashville, Herbers was considered the favorite to replace him. After two years as Lambert’s top assistant, Herbers had paid his dues.

But Muller, who was considered a hot coaching candidate for NHL jobs over the summer, expressed interest. The Predators went with Muller, and Herbers continued in his role as an assistant.

He was disappointed, but knew he needed to continue to bring a positive attitude to the job, and help Muller, who had never spent time in the AHL as a player or a coach.

“I took it in stride and helped him out with the league and shared my experiences with him,” Herbers said. “It was beneficial for him to come in. Even though it was a short period of time, he was able to help me out as a coach as well.”

Said Lambert: “He was disappointed, but he also understood that there’s a process and his time would come. It came maybe quicker than anybody anticipated.”

It was just 17 games into the season, to be exact.

Herbers is considered a good teacher with a keen eye for detail. Under Lambert, he worked with the Admirals’ defense and developed a bond with several of Nashville’s defensive prospects.

“He was great for me, I learned a lot from him. He always took me for extra videos and helped me to get better in my game, and I think he will be a good head coach,” said Predators defenseman Roman Josi, who played for Herbers last season and parts of this season. “He corrects you if you do something wrong. He shows you a lot of video, and helps you see your mistakes.”

Muller was not the first Admirals coach to go to the NHL. Peter Horachek is now a Predators associate coach, and Claude Noel is head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. Todd Richards, who was an assistant for Milwaukee, is a former Minnesota Wild head coach and currently is an assistant with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It’s unclear whether Herbers will follow in the steps of his predecessors, but he appears to be the right fit for right now in Milwaukee.

“He’s very detailed with systems and structure,” Lambert said. “Those are the things that will carry him through.”

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IAN HERBERS

Born: July 18, 1967.

NHL playing career: Selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the 10th round of the 1987 NHL draft. The defenseman played 65 total NHL games with the Oilers, Lightning and Islanders, and registered five assists.

Previous coaching stops: Associate coach with the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit (2004-07). Head coach with the East Coast Hockey League’s Johnstown Chiefs (2007-09). Assistant coach with the American Hockey League’s Milwaukee Admirals (2009-11)

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