July 04, 2013 - 9:31 AM
MONTREAL - Stephane Waite, who helped shape goaltenders Corey Crawford and Antti Niemi for the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, was named goaltending coach of the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Waite replaces Pierre Groulx, who was let go at the end of the season.
He had been goalie coach in Chicago for 10 years, during which the Blackhawks won two Cups.
"Stephane Waite has over 30 years of experience as a goaltending coach," Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin, who worked in the Blackhawks front office before joining Montreal last season, said in a statement.
"He contributed to two Stanley Cup championships with the Blackhawks during his tenure working closely with two different goaltenders, namely Antti Niemi and Corey Crawford. He has vast experience and a thorough knowledge of our local market, and we are convinced that our goaltenders will benefit from his expertise and his work ethic."
In Montreal, Waite will work with veterans Carey Price and Peter Budaj. The team also picked up Halifax Mooseheads goalie Zach Fucale in the draft on Sunday.
This season, the brother of former NHL goaltender Jimmy Waite helped Crawford and Ray Emery win the Jennings Trophy awarded to the goalies with the best goals-against average in the NHL.
In his career, Waite has served as goaltender respresentative for Sherbrooke Hockey and was goaltending consultant for IMG Hockey.
The Sherbrooke, Que., native also coached goalies for several junior and midget AAA teams in the 1980s and 1990s and has run his own goaltending camp since 1988.
Other NHL goalies he has worked with include Craig Anderson, Nikolai Khabibulin, Jocelyn Thibault, Brian Boucher, Felix Potvin, Jean-Sebastien Aubin, Michael Leighton, Patrick Lalime, Cristobal Huet and Marty Turco.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2013