By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
One of the Flyers offseason departures came from the bench with the team firing assistant coach Joe Mullen after the conclusion of the 2016-17 season. They have found his replacement.
The Flyers have hired Kris Knoblauch, the head coach of the OHL's Erie Otters, to be the new assistant coach under Dave Hakstol.
Knoblauch has coached the Erie Otters since 2012. In each of the last four seasons, the Otters posted at least 50 wins and this past season the team won the OHL championship and was the runner-up at the Memorial Cup.
“Kris has had great success at the junior level with the Erie Otters and Kootenay Ice,” GM Ron Hextall said. “He’s coached a lot of good young offensive gifted players. We feel he is a real good fit with our group and we’re excited to have him in our organization.”
“I’m very excited not only for a chance to coach in the National Hockey League, but also to join an organization like the Flyers and to work with Ron and Dave and the rest of the staff,” Knoblauch said. “It’s a great opportunity and I’m really looking forward to getting started.”
Among the players Knoblauch coached at Erie are Connor McDavid, Andre Burakovsky, Connor Brown and Dylan Strome. During his time at Erie, 19 players coached by Knoblauch became NHL draft picks.
Knoblauch started his coaching career in 2006-07 as an assistant with Prince Albert. He moved to Kootenay as an assistant coach the following season and became head coach in 2010, winning the WHL championship in his first year as head coach.
Knoblauch also served as an assistant coach for Canada's junior team at the 2017 IIHF World Junior Championships.
One of the things the Flyers were looking for in the new assistant was going to be for someone to specifically spend a lot of time working the power play. Knoblauch's Erie teams led the OHL in power play efficiency in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and were second in the league in each of the last two seasons. The Otters have also ranked in the top three in power play goals in the OHL in each of Knoblauch's seasons as head coach.
