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