Chaulk still part of “Komets family” as Condors coach | Komets

Somewhere in Crypto.com Arena during a playoff game against the Los Angeles Kings in 2022, then Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland asked Bakersfield Condors coach Colin Chaulk a question about the Fort Wayne Komets.

“Ken asked me, “Do you think that’d be a good place to have our affiliation?” and I had a little chuckle and said, ‘Yes,’” Chaulk said.

Holland must have known that Chaulk, who had just led Bakersfield to the playoffs as interim head coach, was one of all-time great Komets as one of their all-time leading scorers – third with 684 points with 184 goals and 500 assists – and a part of five championship runs.

Over a decade after his time in Fort Wayne as a player ended, the connection remains as part of the affiliation between the Oilers, the Condors and the Komets since 2022.

“I think the Komet organization has evolved, and they’ve been great partners for us in making sure, whether it’s young goaltenders or young players, making sure that they’re developing them,” Chaulk said. “The Franke family and the Komets, the coaches have been great and in my time during the affiliation.”

His playing time in Fort Wayne, let alone his 14-year career overall, makes him qualified to tell AHL signed players like Komets forward Hunter Johannes about the experience of jumping between leagues.

“His message was ‘Hey, I was there and both leagues are hard hockey,” Johannes said.

“Whether you’re in the ECHL or the American League or the NHL, It doesn’t matter. I think being a professional hockey player is one of the hardest jobs in the world and being consistent at it is even harder. He just said to go down there and be the best player and be your best self.”

Chaulk knows all about the highs and lows of being a player. When he first joined the Komets in 2002, he’d already played for 10 teams in four seasons and was struggling to get a grip on his pro game.

“I wasn’t a very good player (to start),” Chaulk said. “I just was not playing well and it was totally on me. I remember Joe Franke came in and we all had lots of banter with him. He was such a great equipment manager. I was playing badly. He changed my number from 39 to 91 and that was one of the things that kicked off.”

The number stuck and the captain Chaulk finished his first season with 82 points as the Komets claimed the Colonial Cup. Fort Wayne chased those heights over the next three seasons under coach Greg Puhalski, a coach Chaulk said was ahead of the curve when it came to an up-tempo, freestyle type of game.

“He wasn’t big on X’s and O’s,” Chaulk said. “He wanted us to be competitive and he wanted us to compete and I think that the game, in my opinion, it’s going that way now.”

When Puhalski left the team after the 2005-06 season, Chaulk did as well and spent a season overseas. His return to Fort Wayne coincided with the return of Al Sims, the coach of the 1993 Turner Cup winning Komets.

“By that time I was an older player, we had a lot of older players, so he certainly did a really good job managing our personalities and our wants and our needs,” Chaulk said. “At the end of the day, he’s the boss and what he says goes, but he just did such a good job allowing the leaders to, to take charge as well and allowing guys to be the best versions of themselves.”

The Komets won three straight Turner Cups with the return of Sims and Chaulk, plus a President’s Cup in the CHL. Chaulk admits he wasn’t at the top of his game during this period, but for good reason. He’d taken on a player-assistant role as the Komets video coach.

“Looking back, probably not the best idea to be the captain of the team, a player on the team, then watching the video back, then running video sessions. It’s not a recipe for success,” Chaulk said.

Long term, that two-year period did help him take on coaching roles following his retirement in 2013. He was an assistant for two seasons in Kalamazoo before becoming a head coach in Brampton from 2015 to 2019. That’s when he moved up to the AHL, spending a year as an assistant in the Ottawa Senators organization before joining the Condors.

Five years later, Chaulk’s 167 wins are the fourth-most wins of any active AHL coaches. Like the Komets, Bakersfield has struggled out the gate this season with a 3-5-1 record as early injuries and call-ups rock the Edmonton organization.

The affiliation means the connection to the organization remains strong. Chaulk tries to talk to Komets coach Ben Boudreau, someone who played against him, once a week to check in on player development.

“I know what that feeling was like to go against Colin Chaulk in the face off circle, and it wasn’t easy,” Boudreau said. “He was dominant. His leadership skills were felt both on and off the ice. He’s a great human being, a great Komet legend, and he’s a great coach in Bakersfield.”

The Komets had three different NHL affiliates – Colorado, Arizona and Vegas – between 2013 and 2022. Their longest tenured affiliate since joining the ECHL is their current one with the Oilers and Condors, now in its fifth season. For Chaulk, the connection to Fort Wayne goes well beyond the partnership.

“I got to be part of the Komets family,” Chaulk said. “You become part of the family and it’s based on how they treat you. They treated the players fantastic. We always had what we needed. There were always people in the stands and they ran a professional organization. … They made sure they brought good players in it. I think most importantly, we had really good people.”