Waite on His Shoulders

Stephane Waite has been a goaltending coach for over 30 years, a part of the Blackhawks organization for a decade, and has two Stanley Cups under his belt. It only figures since the native of Sherbrooke, Quebec sprung to take the same position with the Montreal Canadiens last year that Chicago would keep the family name on staff. Monday afternoon, the Blackhawks announced the hiring of Jimmy Waite, younger brother of Stephane, as the team’s goaltending coach. Waite steps in for Steve Weeks, who was fired after just one season with the team.

Waite, 45, returns to the Blackhawks organization, the team whom he was drafted by in the first round, eight overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He appeared in 58 games for the ‘Hawks over parts of eight seasons with the team. His playing career only recently ended in 2010 with the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany. During his NHL career, Waite also spent time with San Jose and Phoenix.

“We are pleased to welcome Jimmy back to our organization in his new role,” said Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman in a statement. “He has over two decades of professional hockey experience and will be a great addition to our coaching staff.”

Following the conclusion of his professional career, Waite became the goaltending coach for the Chicoutimi Saguenéens in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, where he stayed until joining the Blackhawks organization yesterday. His most notable product while with Chicoutimi is Chris Gibson, a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2011 who currently plays for the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League.