Bloomington, IL - Jarrod Skalde, who spent 17 years as a player in professional hockey including parts of nine seasons with eight teams in the National Hockey League, is trading his skates for a clipboard.
The 37-year-old Skalde was introduced Thursday as the new head coach of the Bloomington PrairieThunder of the International Hockey League during a news conference at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
Skalde was a player/assistant coach for the PrairieThunder during the first half of last season before ending his playing career with a one-month stint for Jesenice (Slovenia) of the Austrian League.
He becomes the second head coach in PrairieThunder franchise history, replacing Derek Booth whose contract was not renewed after two seasons.
"What a great place to start a coaching career," said Skalde. "During my time with the PrairieThunder last year, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of nice people and learn about the community. I also had a chance to get to know the fans and understand the passion and desire they have for a winning program."
Besides his 115-game stint in the NHL, including time with the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Wolves, Skalde also played professionally in the IHL, AHL, Switzerland, Sweden and Japan in a career that spanned 1,071 games.
But along the way, Skalde never lost his vision to some day become a head coach at the professional level.
"My lengthy career has allowed me to learn and grow in North America, while my experience overseas showed me different approaches to the game," said the Niagara Falls, Canada native. "Playing for many different coaches has allowed me to draw from their philosophies and create my own philosophy and goals."
His ultimate goal is to bring a Turner Cup championship to Bloomington, but he also wants to help players improve their game.
"In order to do that, we need to instill a winning attitude by changing the culture and raising expectations of the PrairieThunder organization as a whole," said Skalde. "We also need to continue to build a strong fan base by providing an exciting, hard-working, winning brand of hockey.
"It's also important for the players and the organization to support local charities and build working relationships in Bloomington-Normal and the surrounding business communities through player involvement and a commitment by individuals from within the organization."
In his long career, Skalde has also developed many relationships with players, coaches and agents throughout the professional and junior ranks that he believes will benefit him as he builds this year's team.
"I would like to build a team based on speed," said Skalde. "I want a team that will play an exciting brand of fast hockey. That is the direction hockey is going these days.
"I want a team that controls the puck and is relentless in pursuing it. We need size, especially on defense and a team with character."
Skalde was a member of championship teams at Oshawa of the OHL (1990 Memorial Cup) and Orlando of the IHL (2001 Turner Cup). He played 1,071 games during his career, scoring 307 goals with 511 assists for 818 points excluding his time in Japan.
He was named the Community Man of the Year while playing for the Utah Grizzlies of the AHL in 2004 and served as captain five times and assistant captain seven times during his career.
Skalde is married (wife Erin) with two children (10-year-old daughter True and 5-year-old son Skate) and resides in the off-season in Orlando, Fla, where his wife owns the Redhead Lounge women's boutique.
