Game On Magazine 2017 December 2017 | Page 20

PROFILE K E L LY MCCRIMMON Brandon Values in Sin City BY CARTER BROOKS Photos by Jeff Miller and Bruce Fedyck 2 0 | G AME O N | D EC EM BER 2017 BRANDON –Kelly McCrimmon just might be the most expe- rienced member of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights. It’s certainly safe to assume that he spent a significant amount of time thinking during the days and weeks leading up to Tuesday, August 2, 2016 – the day in which McCrimmon accepted the job offer to join George McPhee and the rest of the front office staff of the Vegas Golden Knights. McCrimmon spent the past 28 years in various roles within the Brandon Wheat Kings organization. Whether serving as Owner, General Manager, Coach, or all of the above at once, the 57-year-old continues to be an extremely well-loved figure within the city of Brandon, Manitoba. Although acknowledging that his new position within the Golden Knights’ front office is “extremely exciting”, McCrimmon also expressed the difficulty of his deci- sion to walk away from the Wheat Kings as Head Coach and General Manager. “In all honesty, I don’t look at my new job as a better opportunity,” McCrimmon said. “Because I have felt that the opportunity that I have had for many years in Brandon was the best job in hockey. I appreciated every minute of my work and time in Brandon, and all of the great things that happened for my family and I. Vegas is more of an opportunity to pursue a new challenge and be a part of something that has proven to be very unique. My role within the expansion draft process was certainly some of the motivation for the move.” Now officially serving as the Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, and Assistant General Manager of the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights, McCrimmon has taken many of the skills that he honed in Brandon to Vegas, serving as General Manager George McPhee’s right hand man. “I have been given a great deal of responsibility within my new role,” McCrimmon said. “George and I have put together a real strong Hockey Operations staff, and we are now seeing those people in the field doing their work. “I have done a lot of scouting in year one - which has been a function of the expansion draft - while year two will be somewhat different again with respect to Hockey Operations.” The Vegas Golden Knights are in good hands, as McCrimmon