The St. Cloud Times reported Tuesday that Kurt Kleinendorst has been signed to help coach St. Cloud State on the ice while full-time assistant coach Mike Gibbons recovers from hamstring surgery.
Kleinendorst will serve as a provisional assistant coach and is able to coach the players, but will not be allowed to recruit while he is with the team.
Gibbons was injured water skiing this fall. He can still recruit, but will not be able to skate during his recovery time.
“I’m not sure there’s a level [Kleinendorst] hasn’t coached at,” Huskies head coach Bob Motzko said in the report. “With Gibby’s situation, we don’t know where that’s going to lead. Especially, early in the year, we’re hoping it’s a one-month thing that Gibby’s back, but the doctor wants him off [the ice] for six months. Gibby’s telling you six days.
“It’s a great rule in the NCAA to allow for a provisional coach because we still have to do our business.”
Kleinendorst, who played at Providence, coached Alabama-Huntsville in 2012-13, as well as the U.S. National Team Development Program in 2009-10, and was coaching the AHL’s Iowa Wild until he was fired Nov. 9, 2014.
“It’s fresh, gets me back at it and it’s a good group,” Kleinendorst said in the article. “I do know Bob and the little bit we’ve crossed paths, I’ve always appreciated him. He’s done a nice job here and built a great program. He talks about learning from me and I’m thinking the opposite — ‘What can I learn from you?'”
