This afternoon the Colorado Avalanche announced that the team has hired Nolan Pratt as an assistant coach for the 2016-2017 NHL season. Pratt comes to the Avalanche after a very successful 5-year coaching tenure in the Columbus Blue Jackets system, beginning with his appointment as an assistant coach for the AHL’s Springfield Falcons in 2011 and ending last spring with a Calder Cup Championship as the assistant coach of the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters.

Last season Pratt coached the Monsters to an impressive 43-22-6-2 regular season record and an astonishing 15-2 postseason record that concluded with a Calder Cup Finals sweep of the Hershey Bears. Pratt is well respected as a coach, especially on the defensive side of the puck, and his defensively stout Monsters gave up just 38 goals in their 17 game post season route of the AHL last season. The Colorado Avalanche’s defensive woes are well documented, so it stands to reason, that he’s been hired as part of the team’s effort to improve their shot suppression and puck possession moving forward.

Pratt has a number of previous connections to the Colorado Avalanche organization. He worked under Avalanche assistant general manager Chris MacFarland when MacFarland held the same job with the Blue Jackets organization, and he played 46 games for the Avalanche in 2001, registering 1 goal and 2 assists from the blue line. Pratt finished his playing career with 592 games played and won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2004 season.

Pratt joins assistant coaches Tim Army and Dave Farrish along with head coach Patrick Roy behind the Avalanche bench next season.