Otters Fire Head Coach Robbie Ftorek
By: Craig Smylie
Updated: November 30, 2012
The Erie Otters have fired head coach Robbie Ftorek midway through his sixth season as head coach. General Manager Sherry Bassin announced that he has hired former WHL coach Kris Knoblauch as the replacement, but will keep assistant Peter Sidorkiewicz on staff.
"Robbie has a distinguished career in coaching and is one of the classiest people in the game," Bassin said. "He is a great mentor on and off the ice. I decided after considerable thought to make this difficult decision and to move in a different direction. The entire Otters family has the utmost respect for Robbie, Wendy and their family and expect that he will go on to bigger and better opportunities."
Ftorek joined the Otters early in the 2007 season after Sidorkiewicz's team started slow. This year the Otters are 7-15-2-3. Knoblauch led the Kootenay Ice to the WHL championship in his first year in 2011.
Kootenay fired Knoblauch after they found out he interviewed for a college coaching job at the University of Alberta. Knoblauch didn't end up getting the job.
"Robbie has a distinguished career in coaching and is one of the classiest people in the game," Bassin said. "He is a great mentor on and off the ice. I decided after considerable thought to make this difficult decision and to move in a different direction. The entire Otters family has the utmost respect for Robbie, Wendy and their family and expect that he will go on to bigger and better opportunities."
Ftorek joined the Otters early in the 2007 season after Sidorkiewicz's team started slow. This year the Otters are 7-15-2-3. Knoblauch led the Kootenay Ice to the WHL championship in his first year in 2011.
Kootenay fired Knoblauch after they found out he interviewed for a college coaching job at the University of Alberta. Knoblauch didn't end up getting the job.
Comments
The coach can only train and coach with what he has been handed in a way of a team.
Rick R.
November 30, 2012 at 7:49 am
How can you expect a coach to accomplish anything with a pack of lazy bums? The farm teams have no prospects of moving up to the NHL right now. So why should they play any harder for trashcan Erie?
Captain M.
November 29, 2012 at 5:31 pm
