Uwe Krupp

Uwe Krupp

Krupp playing for Colorado in 1997.
Born (1965-06-24) June 24, 1965
Cologne, West Germany
Height 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Weight 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Kölner Haie
Buffalo Sabres
New York Islanders
EV Landshut
Quebec Nordiques
Colorado Avalanche
Detroit Red Wings
Atlanta Thrashers
National team  West Germany 
 Germany
NHL Draft 214th overall, 1983
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 19822003

Uwe Gerd Krupp (born June 24, 1965) is a retired German professional hockey defenceman and former coach of the German national ice hockey team. Following Walt Tkaczuk, Krupp was only the second German-born player to have a lasting career in the National Hockey League. He is the first German-born player to win the Stanley Cup,[1] and the second German-born player chosen to an NHL All-Star Game (after Tkaczuk). Krupp was the tallest player in the league for nearly seven years, towering at 6'6". Krupp is currently the head coach of Eisbären Berlin. His son Björn Krupp is a professional ice hockey player.[2]

Playing career

After being discovered by Scotty Bowman, coach and general manager for the Buffalo Sabres while playing for the German national team and as one of the only Cologne-born players to play for Kölner Haie in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Krupp was chosen by the Sabres as the 214th pick in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. Krupp was released at age 19 from his German team after winning the German Championship in 1986 to attempt to earn a spot on the Bowman helmed Sabres. Debuting against the Montreal Canadiens he spent the later part of his first season with the Rochester Americans winning a Calder Cup in the American Hockey League. In the 1989–90 season as a member of the Sabres, Krupp scored an overtime goal in the last game of the regular season against the Pittsburgh Penguins that eliminated the Penguins from playoff contention.

Developing as an imposing puck moving and mobile defenseman, Krupp steadily improved his point totals each year with the Sabres and in the 1990–91 season was selected to participate in the NHL All-Star game, becoming just the second German named behind Walt Tkaczuk. At the beginning of the 1991–92 season, Krupp was included by the Sabres in the Blockbuster trade that sent Pierre Turgeon to the New York Islanders for Pat LaFontaine on October 25, 1991.[3] Krupp quickly settled with the Islanders, finishing second behind Tom Kurvers in defenseman scoring with 35 points in 59 games.

Krupp spent the next couple of seasons entrenched as one of the Islanders top defenders and won against the defending Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1993 playoffs with the Islanders. And reached the Conference Finals with the New York Islanders against heavily favoured Montreal Canadiens, before he was traded at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft along with a first round selection (Wade Belak) to the Quebec Nordiques for Ron Sutter and first selection (Brett Lindros) on June 28, 1994. Recording 6 goals and 23 points in the Lockout shortened 1994–95 season, Krupp's rights were then transferred as the Nordiques relocated to become the Colorado Avalanche.

Krupp is famous for scoring the memorable Stanley Cup-clinching goal for the Colorado Avalanche in the third overtime period of the fourth game of the 1996 Stanley Cup finals against the Florida Panthers.[4] He later won another Stanley Cup in 2002 reuniting with Bowman as a member of the Detroit Red Wings.

In his NHL career, Krupp played 729 games for the Buffalo Sabres, Colorado Avalanche, New York Islanders, Quebec Nordiques, Detroit Red Wings and Atlanta Thrashers before injuries forced him to retire.

On Monday, November 23, 2009 before the Colorado Avalanche game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Krupp was named a member of the Avalanche Alumni Association.[5]

Coaching career

Uwe Krupp in 2009

After announcing his retirement Krupp coached the TPHThunder AAA Bantam hockey team. This was short lived as he was quickly appointed as an Assistant Coach to the German Junior National team. Working up the ranks, he was appointed as an Assistant Coach to the Men's National team under Greg Poss in 2005. Then, shortly before the Torino Olympics, Krupp was made coach of the German national ice hockey team on December 15, 2005, replacing Poss who resigned under heavy fire from the German media. Krupp had strong feelings that the German media never gave Poss his fair chance, using the excuse that Poss was from North America to stonewall any chance Poss may have had of success.

However, Krupp had drastic lineup changes in store before the 2005 World Championship "B-Pool" tournament. Facing strong criticism from the German tabloid media, Krupp chose a team of young players, leaving behind seven veterans from the Torino team, in addition to the top goal scorer in the German league. Skewing the team towards youth, he chose players who had led the Junior National team out of the "B-Pool" to lead the Germans past Israel, Hungary, Great Britain, Japan and the home country France. With an unheard of average age of 22, the Germans outscored opponents 35–4 during their four-game ascent into the "A" group.

At the 2010 World Championships in Germany, Krupp led the German National Team to a semifinal-appearance, Germany’s best result at an international tournament since winning bronze at the 1976 Olympic Games. He remained in the job until November 2011. For his work, he was presented with the Xaver Unsinn Trophy.[6]

Krupp returned to his hometown team Kölner Haie and served as head coach starting July 1, 2011.[7] One of his players on the Haie roster was his son Björn Krupp. Krupp was named best DEL Coach of the 2012-13 season and inked a contract extension until 2017 in October 2013.[8] Under his guidance, the team went to back-to-back DEL finals in 2013 and 2014.[9] On October 10, 2014, Krupp, his assistants Brian McCutcheon and Ron Pasco as well as general manager Lance Nethery were sacked. In a statement, Kölner Haie CEO Peter Schönberger said that the team needed a new direction.[10]

Krupp took over head-coaching duties at Eisbären Berlin in December 2014.[11]

Personal

After his playing career, Krupp maintained his Atlanta area home, and volunteered coaching with his son's youth team. Using his North America base, Krupp has brought several young German players to North America for a variety of tournaments and camps, in addition to opening his home to two Hurricane Katrina refugees who played on his son's youth team. Upon his retirement, Krupp was immediately inducted into the German Hockey Hall of Fame, as a player. In mid 2009, Krupp returned to Germany to reside in preparation for hosting the 2010 World Championships.[12]

Krupp has two sons, Björn and Cedric, with his former wife Beate,[13] and a daughter and a son, Thomas James and Isabelle, with his current partner, Claire.[14]

Awards

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83 Kölner Haie 1.GBun 11 0 0 0 0
1983–84 Kölner Haie 1.GBun 26 0 4 4 22
1984–85 Kölner Haie 1.GBun 31 7 7 14 24 9 4 1 5 12
1985–86 Kölner Haie 1.GBun 35 6 18 24 83 10 4 3 7 0
1986–87 Rochester Americans AHL 42 3 19 22 50 17 1 11 12 16
1986–87 Buffalo Sabres NHL 26 1 4 5 23
1987–88 Buffalo Sabres NHL 75 2 9 11 151 6 0 0 0 15
1988–89 Buffalo Sabres NHL 70 5 13 18 55 5 0 1 1 4
1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 74 3 20 23 85 6 0 0 0 4
1990–91 Buffalo Sabres NHL 74 12 32 44 66 6 1 1 2 6
1991–92 Buffalo Sabres NHL 8 2 0 2 6
1991–92 New York Islanders NHL 59 6 29 35 43
1992–93 New York Islanders NHL 80 9 29 38 67 18 1 5 6 12
1993–94 New York Islanders NHL 41 7 14 21 30 4 0 1 1 4
1994–95 EV Landshut DEL 5 1 2 3 6
1994–95 Quebec Nordiques NHL 44 6 17 23 20 5 0 2 2 2
1995–96 Colorado Avalanche NHL 6 0 3 3 4 22 4 12 16 33
1996–97 Colorado Avalanche NHL 60 4 17 21 48
1997–98 Colorado Avalanche NHL 78 9 22 31 38 7 0 1 1 4
1998–99 Detroit Red Wings NHL 22 3 2 5 6
2001–02 Detroit Red Wings NHL 8 0 1 1 8 2 0 0 0 2
2002–03 Atlanta Thrashers NHL 4 0 0 0 10
NHL totals 729 69 212 281 660 81 6 23 29 86

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1983 West Germany WJC 7th 7 0 0 0 0
1985 West Germany WJC 7th 7 0 1 1 8
1986 West Germany WC 7th 3 2 1 3 2
1990 West Germany WC 7th 2 0 0 0 2
1998 Germany OG 9th 2 0 2 2 4
Junior totals 14 0 1 1 8
Senior totals 7 2 3 5 8

References

  1. http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=516130
  2. "Bjorn Krupp: Like Father, Like Son". QNetNews.ca. Retrieved 2016-02-10.
  3. "Legends of hockey - Uwe Krupp". legendsofhockey.net. 2010-07-20. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  4. "Uwe Krupp back in town". Denver Post. 2009-11-22. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  5. "Avalanche Announces Alumni Association". Colorado Avalanche. 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2011-07-26.
  6. "Ehrung für Uwe Krupp". "Kölner Haie". 2011-11-05. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  7. "Das neue Sport-Konzept der Kölner Haie". "Kölner Haie". 2010-11-15. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  8. "Uwe Krupp unterschreibt Vertrag bis 2017". "Kölner Haie". 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  9. "Playoffs im Eishockey - Eishockey - Sport - WDR". www1.wdr.de. Retrieved 2016-03-15.
  10. "Niklas Sundblad neuer Cheftrainer der Kölner Haie – KEC stellt sportliche Führung um Uwe Krupp und Lance Nethery frei". "Kölner Haie". 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  11. "Uwe Krupp als neuer Eisbären-Trainer vorgestellt". "Eisbären Berlin". 2014-12-17. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
  12. "Uwe Krupp is going home". International Ice Hockey Federation. 2009-06-18. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
  13. "Uwe Krupp ist erneut Vater geworden". http://www.ksta.de. Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. 2014-02-10. Retrieved 2016-02-10. External link in |website= (help)
  14. "Eisbären-Trainer Uwe Krupp im Baby-Glück". www.bz-berlin.de. Retrieved 2016-02-10.

External links

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