On Frozen Blog

If you’re attempting to identify Capitals’ players, past and present, who rank as all-time fan favorites, you have to include Churchbridge, Saskatchewan’s, Kevin Kaminski, a.k.a. Killer! A Cap from 1993 to 1997, his Wikipedia biography includes this career summary:

“During his four seasons with the Capitals, his hard-nosed, gritty style of play would make him a fan favorite, as he would not hesitate fighting players who were much bigger than him… on January 26, 1997, Kaminski, then playing for Washington, goaded Edmonton Oiler enforcer Louis Debrusk into taking 27 penalty minutes just three minutes into the game, and goaded another Edmonton player into taking a roughing penalty before leaving the game with about 5 minutes to go in the first period with a concussion.”

Be still my Old Time Hockey heart.

Between 1993 and 1998 Kaminski played in 113 games with the Portland Pirates, then the Caps’ American Hockey League affiliate, and played a key role in their 1994 Calder Cup title, amassing 9 points and a league-high 91 penalty minutes in 16 playoff games. In 2000 he was inducted into the Portland Pirates Hall of Fame. Kaminski retired from pro hockey in 1999 and began his transition to coaching in 2000, when he served as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Cincinnati Mighty Ducks under then Head Coach Mike Babcock.

Today Killer is in his first season as Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations for the Youngstown Steelhounds of the Central Hockey League. OFB caught up with him under some remarkable circumstances: in the middle of a 21-day roadtrip across virtually the entirety of the American Southwest, the Steelhounds raced home for 48 hours to reconnect with family before embarking on yet another 20-hour bus ride to a faraway rink. It was a road-weary respite with which the coach was home trimming the Kaminski Christmas tree, a helping daughter in his arms. But far from feeling imposed upon by the interview request, the Coach was eager to talk hockey and especially hear about his hockey friends in D.C.

There are those forging lifetime careers in hockey as players, coaches, and perhaps one day executives predicated on an inexhaustible passion for the game, guys who wake up every day and can’t wait to get to the rink. Kevin Kaminski is one of these puck-breathers. He remembers “the honor of playing in Washington,” and I assured him that he was very well remembered by Washington’s hockey community nearly 10 years since he last played here.

I conducted this interview from my office in Northwest Washington, and as I listened to Killer relate his expectations of his Steelhounds — “When things get rough out there, I tell my guys, ‘We gotta win, but we gotta take a number . . . we gotta pay that guy a visit‘; or, when discussing what life for him would be like were he playing in today’s NHL: “I have visions of crushing guys” — I swear he had me so fired up I wanted to race outside onto K Street in my navy blue blazer and khakis and lay a savage and unsuspecting shoulder blow on the first person I laid eyes on.

Coach, you got room on that minor league bus for a late thirtysomething with real decent beer league hands and an OK stride? — cause in December 2006 you got me ready to skate through a Capital Beltway sound barrier for you.

pucksandbooks: Yours ranks as the greatest and most prestigious of nicknames among Capitals’ players, and for that matter in all of hockey. Do you remember when in your career you earned it, and who gave it to you?

Coach Kaminski: When I moved from home at 15, playing Midget, we were wearing cages . . . so you couldn’t fight. I was always told to take the body, and I did, (laughing) no matter whose it was. Even goalies, I didn’t care. I did not back down from anybody. But my coach in Midget, Joe Bloski, he gave it to me.

pucksandbooks: There are some OFB readers who are too new in their support of the Caps to recall your career in Washington, but many more who do. When I think of Kevin Kaminski, I think of an elite Major Junior talent out West whose game adjusted and evolved into the role of cantankerous battler, in order to forge a big-league career. I also think about a player whose modest physique was in no way proportional to the heart with which he played. When I read Caps’ fans message board comments about your career here, the common theme among them focuses on your ability to alter a game’s momentum with bone-rattling checks, your willingness to take on guys a heck of a lot bigger than you — especially on nights in which the team was struggling and trailing. What are your favorite recollections about your role with the Caps in the mid-1990s?

Coach Kaminski: I guess I look at it this way: I had a really good minor career, really good numbers in juniors, but at the next level, we had number twelve, Peter Bondra, we had Pivo (Michal Pivonka), we had Joe Juneau. I accepted my role – 4th line grinder. I hit everything that moved, I did everything I had to to stay in the NHL. It was such an honor to play in Washington. I abused my body, no doubt about that.

pucksandbooks: Were you the same way in practice as you were in games?

Coach Kaminski: In practice, I didn’t fight. You know, in juniors, you got guys going rough all the time, but I wasn’t one of those.

pucksandbooks: How much of an influence was Dale Hunter on your career, both as a player and perhaps as a coach?

Coach Kaminski: One of my biggest influences was Wendell Clark. [OFB note: Kaminski and Clark were Saskatoon Blades' teammates during the 1984-85 season.] I was 16 at the time. He played with fire and passion. So rugged, sacrificed his body. I learned a lot from him, but I also learned a lot from Dale. He was a wily vet, he did everything – he could hit, he could score, he could pass, he was a survivor.

You know what I learned from these guys? It’s not just arrive at the rink and show up and practice, you gotta think the game all day long.

pucksandbooks: The new NHL, from every vantage, appears to have eliminated roles like yours, and I think hockey is the lesser for it. A few weeks back, Caps’ players were suspended — and Coach Hanlon heavily fined — for standing up for one another at the end of game against a cheap-shotting division rival. Firstly, do you share my assessment of Gary Bettman’s new-look NHL, and second, now that you’re a coach, what do you seek to instill in your Youngstown players about the role that sending a message, standing up for your teammates, plays in the contemporary game?

Coach Kaminski: I think the (new) rules are great. I was talking to (former NHL linesman) Kevin Collins last weekend. Every player has to adjust, you can’t be lazy anymore, you have to have two hands on your stick, none of this fist full of sweater in one hand. And I enjoy teaching guys new ways about the game. As a D-man, you gotta have your head up, there’s no more holding onto guys. I tell my guys, ‘We definitely gotta stand up for one another . . . but we gotta play smart – they got four guys out there, we gotta have four guys out there, they got five guys out there, we gotta have five guys out there.’ But I also tell ‘em, when things get rough out there, ‘We gotta win, but we gotta take a number . . . we gotta pay that guy a visit!‘

There’s a lot more skating out there (in the NHL), I see all these lanes, all the speed . . . but I think there should be more hitting now . . . I have visions of being out there and just crushing guys!

pucksandbooks: Speaking of your coaching, let’s talk a minute about how you got behind the bench. Your playing career ended in 1999. How soon near its end, or afterward, did you realize that you wanted to go into coaching? And for Caps’ fans who recall your playing career but aren’t able to see the Youngstown Steelhounds in action, what does a Kevin Kaminski-coached club look like out on the ice?

Coach Kaminski: My body was getting pretty darned beat up there toward the end. I had to retire due to concussions – I was on medication for two years. But people always said I would make a good coach . . . the passion and respect I have for the game, you know? Then I got a chance under Mike Babcock in Cincinnati. I learned a great deal from Mike. I learned so much about teaching and motivating from him. After playing a lot of years, you think you know it all, but the preparation that goes into coaching, it’s unbelievable.

You know when you’re playing, you’re so focused on preparing and motivating yourself. But as a coach, now, I gotta prepare and motivate 20 guys.

The Steelhounds, we’re hard working, we’re gritty, and we’re gonna get grittier. We got a guy coming back soon, he’s 6′6, good for 350-400 penalty minutes, so we’re gonna get grittier all right. We’re a tough team, but not as tough a team as we’re gonna be. I’m trying to install grittiness. But my guys, they block shots, too – we give up the least amount of shots of any team in the league. I think that says a lot about them.

pucksandbooks: As I was researching the Central League for this interview, I was awestruck by the travel the Steelhounds have to endure. From Youngstown, Ohio, the coaching staff and players will bus, always, to places like Amarillo, Texas; Rio Rancho, New Mexico; Loveland, Colorado; Bossier City, Louisiana; and Southaven, Mississippi. Would you share with our readers a sense of what those treks require of players and staff, and also the impact on the families left behind? Are there parallels between your travel in the CHL and what you endured in Saskatoon in juniors? Probably fewer blizzards to navigate.

Coach Kaminski: The word is grueling. I got three little girls. When you’re by yourself for three weeks, it takes its toll on familes, for sure. We have a nice bus, two drivers – it sleeps 25 – but the closest trip is 12 hours to Memphis! It’s not like you can leave the day of the game. We played Memphis recently on a Friday night, got on the bus and went 6 hours to Shreveport, played there on Saturday, then got right back on the bus to go back to Memphis for an early game on Sunday.

Now Saskatoon and those rides in juniors, those were the good old days (laughing). None of these sleeping bunks on those buses. Straight-back seats.

pucksandbooks: I mentioned Dale Hunter earlier. Are there teammates from your years as a Cap that you’ve maintained contact with, even solicited advice from in the early stages of your coaching career? Who in hockey would you say has been your biggest influence?

Coach Kaminski: I’ve stayed in touch with Chief (Craig Berube) – he’s with Philly now. Olie’s (Kolzig) my oldest’s (daughter) godparent. We keep in touch. In the summer George (McPhee) rang me. And Dale, up in London (Ontario), I hear from him too.

As far as coaching, I’d say Mike (Babcock). I feel like . . . basically, he’s just a guy that – on the back of his jersey is the word ‘relentless.’ His ability with video is amazing. He’s a great teacher, a great person, and his worth ethic is just phenomenal.

pucksandbooks: Youngstown is in just its second year of existence in the CHL. The Chevrolet Centre seats a little over 5,000, I guess. What has the reception been like in Youngstown for pro hockey?

Coach Kaminski: We’re in Ohio, you know, so we’re battling with football. Youngstown State just lost out (in the playoffs), but here, I mean, we’re even competing with the high schools (football games). We’ve got the big game still in the new year (Ohio State). But we’re getting about 3,200 a night. We play 64 games in the CHL, 32 and 32, and after this weekend we’re halfway through our road schedule. Last year, with a losing record, we had 5 or 6 sellouts down the stretch. But these fans, they come and they’re loud. The booster club, they’re great, a huge help. But we see a big difference (in crowds) once football winds down.

pucksandbooks: You had fully seven pro seasons that each accumulated more than 200 penalty minutes. You have a wife and three young daughters today. You’re not going to let them view footage of your on-ice mischief any time soon, are you?

Coach Kaminski: (laughing) I’m back in Portland (Maine) every summer running a camp, and my girls, they play in the summer. They’re there with me. All the kids at the camp wanna see my fights, every year. And we show ‘em. So there’s no doubt about it – the girls, they’ve seen plenty of my rough stuff.

And in the room, with the guys, I get the business. We’ll have a tough night, rough stuff, and back in the room, they’re like ‘Coach, you’re gonna be in trouble when you get home.’ A lot of the guys, though, didn’t know me from my playing days.

Now, the day’s gonna arrive when boys come calling on the Kaminski girls, and rule number one about that is this: they gotta arrive four hours early, cause I got four hours of tapes of my fights, and they gotta sit down right next to me on the couch and watch every minute (laughing).

pucksandbooks: I wanna be there for that, too, Coach.

Now this is my last question for you, Coach, and it’s my most important one. I think if Caps’ fans could have one wish granted related to Kevin Kaminski, it would be for you to dress one more time in a Caps’ sweater for a single shift, against a certain Sidney Crosby. Tell us, Coach — hypothetically, of course — what would happen in those 45 seconds out on the ice.

Coach Kaminski: You know, I made Mario’s (Lemieux) first book . . . it’s page 45 I think . . . talked about the work Killer did to him along the boards. I wonder if you can dig that up?

Sidney’s obviously a great player. Ideally, though, I’d catch him with his head down, and I’d get under his skin good for sure. I’d look out for that big open-ice hit and put him on his keister. Obviously, he’s not gonna fight. And his teammates . . . yeah, they’d have something to say to me about that shift (laughing).

pucksandbooks: I think we gotta make this happen, Coach. They did it to us again the other night, those [plural expletive] in black and gold. I think I need to have George call you again.

Coach, with your schedule, you can’t get back to Washington a lot, I know. But maybe in the offseason, maybe you bring the girls to see D.C. The Caps now have this state-of-the-art practice facility. Place seats like 1,500. Maybe we could get management to ok some sort of alumni game there for charity, get you and Chief and Dale and others back in town for a skate, raise some money. If that happened, I’d personally see to it that those stands were filled.

Coach: I’d love that, you bet. Let’s stay in touch. You need another interview, give me a holler, drop me an email. And when you get back to Ohio, get up here to a game.

pucksandbooks: Buy you a beer afterward?

Coach Kaminski: Deal.