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His real name is Rocky: Golden Knights hire Thompson to coach AHL team

2017 Memorial Cup - Championship

WINDSOR, ON - MAY 28: Head Coach Rocky Thompson of the Windsor Spitfires celebrates winning the championship game of the Mastercard Memorial Cup against the Erie Otters 4-3 on May 28, 2017 at the WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Dennis Pajot/Getty Images)

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The best part of virtually every “Rocky” movie was the training montage, so clearly you’d expect Rocky Thompson to be great at developing young players.

OK, so that probably wasn’t the elevator pitch that sold the Vegas Golden Knights on Rocky Thompson, but either way, they named him head coach of the Chicago Wolves (their AHL affiliate) on Wednesday.

” ... As a player, he was competitive, tough, team-oriented and hard working,” Golden Knights GM George McPhee said. “As a coach, he is now coming off a Memorial Cup Championship season with the Windsor Spitfires and has enjoyed success at multiple levels. Player development is a significant priority for our organization and he has proven to be very capable in that area as well. Rocky is the right coach to help us win championships in Chicago.”

AHL head coaches are typically expected to work well with young players. Still, that could be especially crucial in this case, as the Golden Knights are expected to be a work in progress. Thompson may need to deal with a rotating cast even by the standards of sending key pieces to the NHL.

Getting the most out of fringe talent could help accelerate the build, so Thompson is an important hire.

His name also really is Rocky Lee Thompson, too, apparently.

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