Davis Payne
Head Coach
Davis Payne was named Head Coach of the Blues on January 2, 2010, becoming the 23rd Head Coach in the franchise’s history.
Payne, 40, currently the second youngest Head Coach in the National Hockey League (NHL), coached his first game behind the Blues’ bench on January 2, 2010 vs. Chicago and won his first game on January 9, 2010 at Los Angeles. In his first 42 games coached, he guided the Blues to a 23-15-4 record (.595%), which included a 12-5-2 (.737%) home record.
Payne spent a season and a half coaching the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Peoria Rivermen, posting a 62-44-3-6 (.578%) overall mark. In his first year (2008-09) as an AHL head coach, Payne guided the Rivermen to a 43-31-2-4 record and returned Peoria to the postseason following a two-year drought.
Prior to joining the Rivermen before the 2007-08 campaign, Payne had spent a total of seven seasons as a head coach in the ECHL. The Kamloops, British Columbia native established a .691% winning percentage over four years as head coach for the Alaska Aces, the Blues’ ECHL affiliate.
The 2006-07 ECHL Coach of the Year, Payne led the Aces to the 2006 ECHL Kelly Cup Championship and also guided the club to three consecutive trips to the Conference Finals; it was the first time in 15 years and only the second time in ECHL history that a team advanced to the ECHL’s Final Four in three straight seasons. Thirty-eight of Alaska’s 48 lifetime playoff wins had came under Payne’s direction, with his winning percentage in the playoffs (38-21, .644%) nearly matching that of his four regular seasons in Alaska.
Payne, who owns a 289-142-45 (.654%) in seven seasons as an ECHL head coach between Alaska and the Pee Dee Pride, remains second all-time in ECHL history with 50 postseason victories, 12 of which came during his three years with Pee Dee.
A graduate of NCAA Division I Michigan Tech, Payne appeared in 22 NHL games with the Boston Bruins and played a total of eight professional seasons in the AHL, International Hockey League (IHL) and ECHL. He was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the seventh round, 140th overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.
Davis and his wife Jane, have two daughters, Allison and Lydia and reside in St. Louis.
First Game as NHL Head Coach: January 2, 2010 vs. Chicago (3-6 L)
First Win as NHL Head Coach: January 9, 2010 at Los Angeles (4-3 W)
All-Time Regular Season Record (prior to 2011-12 season): 61-48-15 (.552%)
Head Coach
Davis Payne was named Head Coach of the Blues on January 2, 2010, becoming the 23rd Head Coach in the franchise’s history. Payne, 40, currently the second youngest Head Coach in the National Hockey League (NHL), coached his first game behind the Blues’ bench on January 2, 2010 vs. Chicago and won his first game on January 9, 2010 at Los Angeles. In his first 42 games coached, he guided the Blues to a 23-15-4 record (.595%), which included a 12-5-2 (.737%) home record.
Payne spent a season and a half coaching the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate Peoria Rivermen, posting a 62-44-3-6 (.578%) overall mark. In his first year (2008-09) as an AHL head coach, Payne guided the Rivermen to a 43-31-2-4 record and returned Peoria to the postseason following a two-year drought.
Prior to joining the Rivermen before the 2007-08 campaign, Payne had spent a total of seven seasons as a head coach in the ECHL. The Kamloops, British Columbia native established a .691% winning percentage over four years as head coach for the Alaska Aces, the Blues’ ECHL affiliate.
The 2006-07 ECHL Coach of the Year, Payne led the Aces to the 2006 ECHL Kelly Cup Championship and also guided the club to three consecutive trips to the Conference Finals; it was the first time in 15 years and only the second time in ECHL history that a team advanced to the ECHL’s Final Four in three straight seasons. Thirty-eight of Alaska’s 48 lifetime playoff wins had came under Payne’s direction, with his winning percentage in the playoffs (38-21, .644%) nearly matching that of his four regular seasons in Alaska.
Payne, who owns a 289-142-45 (.654%) in seven seasons as an ECHL head coach between Alaska and the Pee Dee Pride, remains second all-time in ECHL history with 50 postseason victories, 12 of which came during his three years with Pee Dee.
A graduate of NCAA Division I Michigan Tech, Payne appeared in 22 NHL games with the Boston Bruins and played a total of eight professional seasons in the AHL, International Hockey League (IHL) and ECHL. He was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the seventh round, 140th overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.
Davis and his wife Jane, have two daughters, Allison and Lydia and reside in St. Louis.
First Game as NHL Head Coach: January 2, 2010 vs. Chicago (3-6 L)
First Win as NHL Head Coach: January 9, 2010 at Los Angeles (4-3 W)
All-Time Regular Season Record (prior to 2011-12 season): 61-48-15 (.552%)
