The ECHL’s all-time coaching wins leader, Jason Christie was named head coach of the IceMen on June 6, 2017. Christie became the all-time winningest coach in ECHL history, passing 2012 ECHL Hall of Fame inductee John Marks, with his 492nd career win on Dec. 10, 2015 against Idaho.
Christie was head coach of Tulsa from 2015-17 after spending the previous four seasons with the Ontario Reign, leading the club to the Kelly Cup Playoffs in each of his four seasons. The Reign had four straight 40-plus win seasons and three consecutive Pacific Division titles during Christie’s time behind the bench. Christie is 573-388-118 in 15 seasons as an ECHL head coach with Peoria, Utah, Ontario, Tulsa and Jacksonville, and has advanced to the Kelly Cup Playoffs on 10 occasions, while winning 40 or more games eight times.
He ranks first in ECHL history with 1,079 games coached and is third in ECHL postseason history with 88 games coached while his 43 postseason wins are tied for sixth all-time. Christie was selected as a coach for the ECHL All-Star Game in his first season in 2000-01 and returned for the 2004 All-Star Game.
He was an assistant coach with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League in 2008-09 and 2009-10 before being named head coach of the Central Hockey League’s Bloomington PrairieThunder in 2010-11. He led Bloomington to a 37-22-7 record and the team’s first postseason appearance on his way to being named the CHL Coach of the Year.
Christie played the last of his 10 professional seasons with Peoria and led the Rivermen to the 2000 Kelly Cup championship, earning co-Most Valuable Player honors. He played five seasons in the American Hockey League and the International Hockey League, scoring 172 points (58g-114a) in 305 games. Before turning pro, he scored 290 points (115g-175a) in 279 games with Saskatoon in the Western Hockey League. Christie and his wife, Kelley, are parents of two sons, J.D. and Jaxon.
Coaching Record | Reg. Season | Playoffs | ||||||||
Season | Team | Gms. | W | L | T | Gms. | W | L | ||
2000-01 | Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) | 72 | 45 | 17 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 5 | ||
2001-02 | Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) | 72 | 41 | 23 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 3 | ||
2002-03 | Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) | 72 | 48 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | ||
2003-04 | Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) | 72 | 45 | 18 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 4 | ||
2004-05 | Peoria Rivermen (ECHL) | 72 | 38 | 26 | 8 | --- | --- | --- | ||
2005-06 | Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) | 72 | 36 | 30 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
2006-07 | Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) | 72 | 22 | 42 | 8 | --- | --- | --- | ||
2007-08 | Utah Grizzlies (ECHL) | 72 | 32 | 30 | 10 | 15 | 8 | 7 | ||
2010-11 | Bloomington (CHL) | 66 | 37 | 22 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||
2011-12 | Ontario Reign (ECHL) | 72 | 43 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 3 | ||
2012-13 | Ontario Reign (ECHL) | 72 | 46 | 19 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 4 | ||
2013-14 | Ontario Reign (ECHL) | 71 | 44 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 4 | ||
2014-15 | Ontario Reign (ECHL) | 72 | 43 | 19 | 10 | 19 | 11 | 8 | ||
2015-16 | Tulsa Oilers (ECHL) | 72 | 37 | 30 | 5 | --- | --- | --- | ||
2016-17 | Tulsa Oilers (ECHL) | 72 | 27 | 37 | 8 | --- | --- | --- | ||
2017-18 | Jacksonville Icemen (ECHL) | 72 | 26 | 39 | 7 | --- | --- | --- | ||
ECHL Totals | 1079 | 573 | 388 | 118 | 88 | 43 | 45 |