Kevin Kaminski (born March 13, 1969) is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player, notable for being one of the most prominent minor-league "goons" of the 1990s. He is currently the head coach of the

La Ronge Ice Wolves The La Ronge Ice Wolves are a Canadian junior "A" ice hockey team based out of La Ronge, Saskatchewan. They play out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and play their homes games at the Mel Hegland Uniplex which has a seating capacity of 1, ...

of the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years of ...

Playing career

Selected in the

1987 NHL Entry Draft The 1987 NHL Entry Draft was the 25th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan, and was the first draft held in the United States. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into pr ...

by the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

, Kaminski only played one game for the North Stars before he was traded to the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

in exchange for Gaetan Duchesne. After spending several years in the Nordiques organization, principally for their

Halifax Citadels The Halifax Citadels were a professional ice hockey team based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They played in the American Hockey League between 1988 and 1993. They were created by the relocation of the Fredericton Express and filled a void left by th ...

AHL team, he was traded to the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...

prior to the

1993–94 NHL season The 1993–94 NHL season was the 77th regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 26 teams with the addition of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and the Florida Panthers. The New York Rangers defeated the Vancouver Canucks in ...

. During his four seasons with the Capitals, his hard-nosed style of play would make him a fan favorite, as he would not hesitate to fight players much bigger than he was. He would play three more seasons in the minors for the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks fr ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

before retiring in 1999. Although Kaminski played only 286 games in the AHL, less than four full seasons' worth, he stands in the top 50 in all-time career penalty minutes for the league.

Coaching career

After retiring from playing, Kaminski moved on to coaching starting as an assistant with the

Cincinnati Mighty Ducks The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks were a professional ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They were members of the American Hockey League, and played their home games at the Cincinnati Gardens. Throughout their existence they were the primary mi ...

in 2000. He got his first head coaching position in 2002 with the

Long Beach Ice Dogs The Long Beach Ice Dogs were an American professional ice hockey team based in Long Beach, California at the Long Beach Sports Arena. They played until the end of the 2006–07 ECHL season. History The Ice Dogs trace their origins to the San Die ...

in the

West Coast Hockey League The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nev ...

where he stayed for two seasons before being released. He has since coached for the

Missouri River Otters The Missouri River Otters were a minor professional ice hockey team based in St. Charles, Missouri. They played in the United Hockey League from 1999 to 2006. They played their home games at the St. Charles Family Arena, which also opened in Octobe ...

( UHL),

Youngstown SteelHounds The Youngstown SteelHounds was a professional ice hockey team which participated in the Central Hockey League (CHL) from the 2005–2006 season through the 2007–2008 season. The team was affiliated with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the NHL and t ...

( CHL),

Mississippi RiverKings The Mississippi RiverKings were a professional minor league ice hockey team. The RiverKings were a member of the Southern Professional Hockey League from 2011 to 2018 after playing their first nineteen seasons (1992–2011) in the Central Ho ...

(CHL), Louisiana IceGators ( SPHL), and the Louisiana Drillers ( NA3HL). In October 2016, he took the head coaching position with the

Fresno Monsters The Fresno Monsters are a junior ice hockey team based in Fresno, California. The team is a member of the United States Premier Hockey League and plays in the Premier Division. The Monsters' home venue is Gateway Ice Center. History The Monsters w ...

of the

Western States Hockey League The Western States Hockey League (WSHL) was a junior ice hockey league established in 1993. It was sanctioned by the United Hockey Union, the junior hockey branch of the Amateur Athletic Union. Previously, it was sanctioned by USA Hockey from 199 ...

, a Tier II junior team. After three seasons in Fresno, he returned to Saskatchewan and the head coaching position with the

. Kaminski won the CHL's coach of the year award with the Mississippi RiverKings in the 2008–09 season.

References

External links

* 1969 births Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Las Vegas Thunder players Living people Minnesota North Stars draft picks Minnesota North Stars players Portland Pirates players Quebec Nordiques players Saskatoon Blades players Washington Capitals players New England Stingers players {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1960s-stub