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Gladys Chai von der Laage Photo<\/p>\n
Winnipeg\u2019s Harold Kreis (centre) has been the bench boss for Team Germany for the past three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cSay \u2018hi\u2019 to him from his old teammates,\u201d Walby told the Free Press on Tuesday. \u201cAnd tell Harold he owes me a Germany hockey jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kreis, 67, had a chuckle recalling how much fun he had with Walby and company during the 1975-76 and 1976-77 seasons in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. A quick look at the statistics suggests there were plenty of shenanigans on the ice, with Kreis (139 penalty minutes) and Walby (119) spending a lot of time in the sin bin during that final year.<\/p>\n
Kreis also had a sizeable edge in the scoring department, finishing with 34 points to Walby\u2019s 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cHarold was a hell of a good player,\u201d said Walby. \u201cTough as nails and a great guy and teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Walby recalled a team party during their first year together when Kreis announced he had to head home because his dad needed the car for work. Rookies were expected to stay late and help clean up, so a standoff ensued.<\/p>\n
Eventually, Kreis negotiated his way out \u2014 perhaps an early sign that coaching would become his calling card. Walby admitted he helped smooth the process, describing himself as a \u201ccub\u201d among the \u201clions\u201d on the team who initially refused to budge.<\/p>\n
Walby, at six-foot-seven and strong as a bull, certainly had the ability to be persuasive.<\/p>\n
\u201cChris wasn\u2019t making any money when he was playing for the North Stars, but he sure was once he went to the Blue Bombers,\u201d said Kreis. \u201cHe was a big, tough man. That was a fun team.\u201d<\/p>\n
So how did Kreis end up coaching Germany \u2014 something he\u2019s now been doing for nearly three decades? Like many Canadian hockey players, he looked overseas once opportunities started drying up.<\/p>\n
Kreis was a member of the Winnipeg Junior Jets team that relocated to Calgary and became the Calgary Wranglers in 1977-78. One year later, he was recruited to join Adler Mannheim in the Ice Hockey Bundesliga, which eventually evolved into Germany\u2019s top professional circuit, the DEL.<\/p>\n
The club\u2019s general manager wanted to bring in several Canadians, believing it would instantly raise the team\u2019s level. And so Kreis left Winnipeg behind \u2014 along with his parents and much of his extended family.<\/p>\n
He never came home professionally. Kreis joined Mannheim in the fall of 1979 and stayed until retiring in the spring of 1997, serving as captain for several seasons and helping lead the club to championships in 1980 and again in 1997.<\/p>\n
Kreis also represented Germany internationally, competing at the Olympics in 1984 and 1998 and appearing in eight world championships.<\/p>\n
That success carried over behind the bench. Kreis joined Mannheim\u2019s coaching staff immediately upon retirement, landed his first head-coaching job two years later, and hasn\u2019t looked back \u2014 now leading teams for roughly a quarter-century.<\/p>\n
Three years ago, the German Ice Hockey Association named Kreis men\u2019s national coach, citing a resum\u00e9 that included just about everything the sport had to offer. The move paid off quickly as Kreis guided Germany to silver at the 2023 IIHF World Championship.<\/p>\n
Now comes his third Olympic appearance \u2014 and his first as a coach \u2014 overseeing the deepest roster in German history, one that features six NHL players.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t MIKE DEAL \/ FREE PRESS FILES<\/p>\n Hall of Famer Winnipeg Blue Bomber Chris Walby \u2014 who played hockey with Team Germany head coach Harold Kreis when they were younger \u2014 said the Winnipegger owes him a German jersey the next time he sees him.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s great. You never would have imagined being a part of it,\u201d said Kreis. \u201cAnd the guys on this team are so fun. They\u2019re great people first, and great athletes second.\u201d<\/p>\n Star forward Draisaitl even has a personal connection to Kreis.<\/p>\n \u201cI played with his dad. I played against his dad. I coached against his dad. It\u2019s a long hockey tradition out there,\u201d said Kreis.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also another Winnipeg tie behind the German bench. Kreis\u2019s assistant coach is Jamie Kompon, who spent six seasons with the Winnipeg Jets as part of Paul Maurice\u2019s staff. Kompon, a Thunder Bay, Ont., native, is now an associate coach with the Florida Panthers with back-to-back Stanley Cup titles on his resum\u00e9.<\/p>\n \u201cWe met years ago at a hockey school in Okanagan,\u201d Kreis said.<\/p>\n \u201cHeading into the Olympics, I thought, OK, this is going to be a tournament with NHL players. He\u2019s got phenomenal NHL experience and success. I wanted somebody on my side who has worked with this level of player, so I asked Jamie. He was excited to come.\u201d<\/p>\n For those wondering, there are no birthplace restrictions for coaches in international hockey.<\/p>\n Germany faces a stiff test Wednesday against Slovakia, which boasts a more star-studded lineup. But consider this potential storyline: if Germany wins, along with Canada (the No. 1 seed facing Czechia) and the United States (No. 2 vs. Sweden), Canada and Germany would meet in one of Friday\u2019s semifinals.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cWe\u2019ll be ready to perform at our best,\u201d Kreis said.<\/p>\n Kreis\u2019s brother and several cousins still live in Winnipeg, and his last trip home came for his father\u2019s celebration of life. His two children live in Germany but also hold Canadian citizenship.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll head back at some point for summer holidays. Certainly not in the winter,\u201d Kreis said with a smirk.<\/p>\n Memo from Walby: Don\u2019t forget that jersey when you do.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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