Geordie Kinnear is the quintessential Albany River Rat.
The Checkers head coach has gone through quite the journey to get to where he is today, and to trace that journey is to trace the history of the River Rats franchise - starting with day one.
“It was the first year of the franchise for the Albany River Rats - New Jersey moved them from Utica at that point,” said Kinnear of the 1993-94 season. “That was my first year pro. I feel very fortunate to be a part of that franchise from the very first year.”
The 20-year-old Kinnear completed his OHL career with Peterborough the season before and - having been drafted by the Devils in the seventh round of the 1992 draft - was set to begin his career in New York’s capital city.
“I didn’t know what to expect,” said Kinnear. “I look back and I think I was nervous and scared. It was my first time away from home. All the feelings of just trying to establish myself as a first-year player playing against men. But I was very fortunate to be in a great city with a great organization.”
A 6-foot-1 blue liner, Kinnear embraced the defensive side of the game - building his repertoire by studying a legend of the game from inside the organization.
“Definitely physical,” said Kinnear of his style of play. “I tell all our guys this, you actually learn more by watching other people. So I was in New Jersey watching Scott Stevens and I learned a lot from watching him. If you were to ask me to describe how I played, it was a lot like Scotty Stevens - physical, took a lot of pride in being a great defenseman and playing against the top-end talent from the other teams. I was just a competitive person.”
Kinnear wasn’t alone in that realm, though. That hard-nosed, tough-to-play-against attitude became synonymous with the River Rats.
“Defending first and how we played without the puck,” said Kinnear about Albany’s identity as a team. “Took a lot of pride in the D zone, being stingy. Goals against was always a priority for us as an organization. How we played up top was exactly how we played down below. We took a lot of pride in that. We always wanted to make our goaltender the best player on the ice. There was a lot of trust within our group and how we played. We definitely trusted each other to get the job done.”
The River Rats reached the pinnacle early on in their existence. After finishing the 1994-95 season as the league’s top team, they stormed their way through the playoffs - a run that culminated in a sweep of Fredericton to capture the Calder Cup.
“When you look at the picture I think I counted 15 to 16 players who played in the National Hockey League after that season,” said Kinnear, holding the team’s championship photo surrounding the Cup. “It started with the New Jersey Devils when [head coach] Jacques Lemaire came in [the previous season]. This year was the year of the lockout, so we were very fortunate to have Larry Robinson [Devils assistant coach] come down during the lockout to work with us and I think that was a defining moment for me. Not just as a player but as a coach, how he was such a great coach and a great teacher and how he was able to develop relationships with all of us and really teach us how to be pros and play really good defense - which is the foundation to any championship team.”
A month after the River Rats hoisted the Calder Cup, the Devils would complete their sweep of Detroit to claim the Stanley Cup - one of only three times in history that an organization has won both prizes in a single season.
“I feel very fortunate,” said Kinnear of raising the Calder Cup. “A lot of great memories, a lot of great people, and obviously a special moment.”
Kinnear continued to patrol the blue line for Albany over the next four seasons, ranking near the top of the team penalty minute rankings year-in and year-out and helping guide his team to the playoffs each season - including a pair of conference finals berths.
This stretch also saw Kinnear grow into a leader for the tight-knit River Rats, exuding a work ethic and selfless attitude that permeated through the team and eventually landed him the captaincy for the 1998-99 campaign.
“I was just who I was,” he said. “Super competitive, very loyal person. The guy beside me was the ultimate teammate for me and I wanted to make sure he felt - I don’t know if safe is the right word - but that he could go out and play and feel free and know that I always had his back. I think that I just led by example. That’s who I was. I think to win in the end you have to have that type of mindset that you would do anything for the guy beside you. During those times in Albany we had a lot of elite teams that had that identity.”
“What I remember about Geordie was that he was such a passionate competitor,” said Peter Horachek, who coached Kinnear from 1999 to 2000. “He didn’t cut corners, he was consistent and always ready to play. As a leader he practiced hard and played the games hard and his teammates knew he had their backs.”
For the 1999-2000 campaign, Kinnear found himself in uncharted territory - departing the Devils organization and the city of Albany and signing a deal with the brand-new Atlanta Thrashers.
At this point Kinnear - now playing for the Thrashers’ IHL affiliate in Orlando - had logged over 400 games in the minors and watched countless numbers of teammates make the jump to the next level - though his selfless nature shined through once again.
“Wherever I was I just wanted to win,” said Kinnear. “I was just as proud of my teammates that went up to go play in the National Hockey League.”
On March 6, 2000, though, it was Kinnear’s turn - Atlanta brought the 26-year-old up for a road contest against the Canadiens.
“When I finally got the call to go play in Montreal, I think it was my seventh year, it was all worth it,” he said. “It was seven years to finally play my first NHL game. But I wouldn’t change any of those seven years, because for me there was progression all the way along, it continued to build over time. Because I played seven years before I got my first NHL game it was all that much more special for me and my family and all my friends. It was a dream come true for sure.”
He would play a total of four games for the Thrashers before returning to Orlando for the remainder of the campaign.
The next season would bring about another twist in Kinnear’s journey.
“It’s a funny story,” said Kinnear. “I signed as a free agent with Atlanta at that time, had my first child, Avery, moved to Orlando. So we just had Avery during training camp, we were out for a walk with her, it was a nice sunny day in Orlando and I get the call from [Devils GM] Lou Lamoriello that I was traded back to Albany.”
The move returned Kinnear back to where it all began in hopes of recapturing what he had brought to those River Rats teams of the past.
“To be honest it felt great because at that time they were on an 11-game losing streak and he felt the need for me to come back and help the group to get back on the right track,” said Kinnear. “You feel important and valued. It was special to go back to Albany where I started and help that group turn the corner.”
The season had one more twist in store, however - this time an unfortunate one.
“I got traded back to Albany, I played I think 14 games, and I had a - surprise, surprise - a football injury,” said Kinnear. “Spinal stenosis, where there was zero room for my spinal cord anymore. I was getting some numbness so I had to call it quits. I don’t like the word quit. I had to retire.”
The injury brought an abrupt end to Kinnear’s playing career, with 490 pro games on his resume. But the end of one phase of his hockey journey gave way to the beginning of his next act.
“It allowed me to start my coaching career,” he said. “I still had one year left on my deal and the New Jersey Devils were gracious in allowing me the opportunity to start developing as a coach. That’s how it started for me. If you look back, the obstacle was a way to develop as a coach and here I am today still coaching in a great city in Charlotte.”
Ever the competitor, transitioning to life behind the bench wasn’t without its challenges for Kinnear - who was 28-years-old and now coaching the players he was just in the room with the season before.
“The hardest part, to be honest, is you feel like you can still contribute on the ice,” he said. “I’ll always remember Lou [Lamoriello] telling me that when you stop thinking as a player and start thinking as a coach, there’s a distinct difference. I was still thinking as a player a little bit. You have to grow out of that.”
Taking that advice to heart, Kinnear grew into his new coaching role and hasn’t looked back - spending 13 seasons as an AHL coach before joining Florida as their AHL head coach for the last eight seasons.
The roots of that hard-working defenseman who would do anything for his teammates as a player are still there, though.
“I told you how much pride I took in helping people get to that next level - nothing’s changed,” said Kinnear. “It’s not always easy, there’s a lot of hard times and tough conversations and moments that aren’t going well - it’s just a lot of peaks and valleys. But I feel very fortunate that I’m usually the first person to tell that player, ‘You’re going to play your first NHL game.’ What a privilege that is. I never take that for granted.”
The River Rats would play their last game on April 29, 2010 - an overtime loss to the eventual Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears that completed a second-round sweep of Albany. The franchise would move to Charlotte the following season and the Checkers would be born.
It’s fitting that the person present for the team’s first and last days was Kinnear - a man who embodied the River Rats hard-nosed identity on the ice and a champion for every teammate he suited up next to.
“I’m a loyal person, I always play for the logo, not the name on the back,” said Kinnear when reflecting on his time in Albany. “I was there from day one of the franchise and then when the franchise moved I was here from day one. There’s a lot of pride, a lot of memories. I look at this [jersey] and I think, ‘This is where it all started for a lot of people.’ I see all those guys throughout the league in different roles - scout, coach, president - we all have that common bond where this is where we had to learn how to win.
“I did anything for the team,” he said. “I did anything to win a hockey game and took a lot of pride in that. Ultimately it cost me my career because I had a neck injury in the end, but I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”
Holding a River Rats jersey in one hand and his Calder Cup ring in the other, it’s clear just how much that team and city meant - and continue to mean - for Charlotte’s bench boss.
“When I look at the logo I think of all the special people along the way - including the fans and the people in Albany,” said Kinnear. “The vision that Michael and Tera had for the family group here - I think that’s just a continuation of what I saw in Albany. The logo carries on today in Charlotte."
In the end, Kinnear boils his feelings on the River Rats down to a simple message.
“A lot of pride.”
Photo courtesy of the Kinnear family
