Coaches
Andy Murray | Ray Bennett | Brad Shaw | Rick Wamsley | Nelson Ayotte | Scott Masters
Andy Murray
Head Coach
Andy Murray, one of hockey’s most respected coaches with many years of experience at both the National Hockey League and International level was named the 22nd head coach in the history of the St. Louis Blues on December 11, 2006. His first game as head coach for the Blues was on December 12, 2006 versus Chicago and posted his first victory in a 4-1 win at Pittsburgh on December 19, 2006.
Since taking over behind the St. Louis bench, Murray has guided the club to a 60-54-22 record. In his first 12 games as Blues head coach during the 2006-07 season, the team did not allow a first period goal, which tied an NHL modern era record for most consecutive games without allowing a first period goal since the Los Angeles Kings accomplished it during the 1974-75 season. Murray coached in his 500th career NHL game on January 20, 2007 at San Jose in which the Blues won 1-0. From December 19, 2006-January 26, 2007, St. Louis posted a 13-2-2 (.823%) record, which led the NHL.
Prior to arriving in St. Louis, Murray coached the Los Angeles Kings from 1999-2006 and is the all-time franchise leader in wins (215) and games coached (480). In 2001-02, Murray became the second fastest Kings coach to record 100 wins as the Kings earned at least 90 points and made the playoffs for the third straight season, all under Murray. The 95 points earned by the Kings were the most since the 1990-91 campaign and the fourth most in team history. The Kings also lost less than 30 games for the second straight season, the first time the franchise has accomplished that feat.
During the 1999-2000 season, Murray’s first as an NHL head coach, he guided the Kings to a second place finish in the Pacific Division and the fifth seed in the Western Conference. The Kings that season were the third most improved club in the NHL (+25 points from 1998-99); the team accumulated an impressive 94 points; and Murray became one of just three first-year head coaches in club history to win at least 39 games in their first full season behind the Kings bench, with the 39 wins representing the most the team had accumulated since 1992-93 (in an 84-game schedule).
Murray has over 30 years of coaching experience, including seven seasons as an NHL assistant or associate coach with the Winnipeg Jets (1993-95), Minnesota North Stars (1990-92) and Philadelphia Flyers (1988-90). As an assistant coach in Minnesota, Murray reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1991.
In addition to his NHL service, Murray has a tremendous amount of international coaching experience. He is the only head coach to lead Team Canada to three IIHF World Hockey Championship titles. Murray captured gold medals in 1997, 2003 and in 2007. In his gold medal run in 2007, Canada went 9-0 during the tournament for the first time since 1937 when the World Championships were held in London, England.
Murray was the head coach of the Canadian National Team from 1996-98 and guided his squad to a two-year 77-29-14 record. During the 1998-99 season, Murray split time as head coach for Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Faribault, Minnesota, where he led the prep school to a 70-9-2 record and the Midget Triple A USA Hockey national championship and as general manager at Koln of the German Hockey League.
As an assistant coach for Team Canada in 1996, he collected silver medals at the World Cup of Hockey and the World Hockey Championship. Murray also served as an associate coach for Team Canada under Marc Crawford at the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano, Japan. Additionally, he has a record six gold medals as a coach for Canada at the Spengler Cup Tournament in Davos, Switzerland.
From 1976-78, he served his first head coaching position with the Brandon Travelers of the Manitoba Junior A Hockey League. He moved on to become head coach for Brandon University from 1978-81 and led the Bobcats to a league championship and the No. 1 ranking in Canadian University hockey during his final year. In 1981 Murray moved to Switzerland, where for the next seven years he coached several Swiss-A Division teams, including Kloten Zurcher and Zug, with success.
In 1987 he returned to North America as an assistant coach for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League and helped guide the Bears to the 1988 Calder Cup championship. In 1992, Murray returned to Europe to coach Lugano in Switzerland and then at Eisbaren Berlin in Germany.
Andy and his wife Ruth have three children (all hockey players): sons Braden (currently in the Los Angeles Kings’ organization) and Jordan (a student/athlete at the University of Wisconsin), and daughter Sarah (a student/athlete at the University of Minnesota-Duluth). They split their time during the summer between Faribault and Manitoba
Ray Bennett
Assistant Coach
Ray Bennett joined the St. Louis Blues coaching staff as an assistant on December 13, 2006. He served seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings from 1999-2006. While with the Kings, Bennett was involved in all areas of tactical and technical play while specializing in video analysis, computer assistance and statistical support.
Bennett was the manager of high performance/video for the Canadian Hockey Association and National Team and also served as their manager of coaching/initiation programs and as an assistant for Canada’s National Women’s Olympic Team, which earned a silver medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. He was also an assistant coach responsible for video for Canada’s silver medal winning National Junior Team at the 1999 World Championships and the gold medal winning Canadian National Women’s Team at the 1999 World Championships.
Bennett has also been head coach at Red Deer College and has worked for the Spokane Chiefs, the World Junior Hockey Championship Association, Hockey Canada, the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association.
A graduate of the University of Alberta, Ray is a native of Innisfail, Alberta. He and his wife Karla have three children, Kale, Kassie and Max.
Brad Shaw
Assistant Coach
Brad Shaw was named an assistant coach for the Blues on July 11, 2006. Shaw joined the Blues from the New York Islanders organization where he served as an interim head coach and assistant coach last season. Prior to joining the Islanders, he spent three seasons (2002-2005) as the head coach for the American Hockey League’s Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and posted a record of 44-31-4-1 in 2004-05. Before Shaw joined Cincinnati, he was the head coach with the Detroit Vipers of the former International Hockey League, an assistant with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL and an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1999-2000.
Shaw made his NHL debut in 1985-86 with the Hartford Whalers and spent 11 of the following 15 seasons as a defenseman around the league. He was sent to the Blues in a trade with Washington on March 18, 1999, where he would play in 12 games and finish his playing career. Shaw played in 377 career games with Hartford, Ottawa, Washington and St. Louis, recording 159 points (22 goals, 137 assists).
Brad was born on April 28, 1964 in Cambridge, Ontario and he and his wife, Mary, are the parents of three children, Taylore, Brady, and Caroline.
Rick Wamsley
Assistant Coach/Goaltending Coach
Rick Wamsley joined the Blues as an assistant coach/goaltending coach on July 7, 2006. Before arriving in St. Louis, he was working for the Columbus Blue Jackets organization where he served as a goaltending coach and pro scout since 1999. Prior to joining the Blue Jackets, Wamsley spent six seasons as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. While in Toronto, he served as a pro and amateur scout in 1998-99 and was an assistant coach under Pat Burns from 1996-98. Wamsley joined the organization as a goaltending consultant immediately following a 12-year playing career that ended during the 1992-93 season.
During his playing career, Wamsley posted a 204-131-46 record and a 3.34 goals against average with the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Wamsley was drafted as the Canadiens’ fifth pick, 58th overall, in the 1979 Entry Draft and he made his NHL debut with Montreal in 1980-81. He became a full-time goaltender the following season and posted a 23-7-7 record with a 2.75 goals-against average with the Canadiens. That year, Wamsley shared the William M. Jennings Trophy with teammate Denis Herron as the duo allowed the fewest goals against in the NHL.
Wamsley spent three-plus seasons with Montreal before being traded to the Blues in 1984. His four seasons (1984-88) in St. Louis produced a 75-59-15 record, including 23 wins in 1984-85 (23-12-5, 3.26 goals-against average) and 22 wins in 1985-86 (22-16-3, 3.43 goals-against average). Wamsley currently ranks fifth on the Blues all-time goaltending lists in games played (154), minutes played (9,064) and ranks sixth in wins (75). He was between the pipes in “The Monday Night Miracle” when St. Louis staged a dramatic come-from-behind victory in game six of the 1986 Campbell Conference Finals by scoring four unanswered goals to defeat Calgary, 6-5, in overtime.
In March 1988, he was traded to Calgary in a deal that sent Brett Hull to the Blues. The highlight of his stint in Calgary came in 1988-89 when he helped the Flames capture the lone Stanley Cup championship in club history.
Wamsley was born on May 25, 1959 in Simcoe, Ontario. He and his wife, Lori, are the parents of three daughters, Kelly, Colleen, and Megan. The family resides in St. Louis.
Nelson Ayotte
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Nelson Ayotte is entering his third season as the strength and conditioning coach for the Blues. He is recognized as one of the top sports performance training coaches in the world. Ayotte is a level five Canadian National Certified Coach which is the highest level possible. Out of one million coaches, only 76 have finished the program since 1974. Ayotte has been chosen as Canadian coach of the year in 1998, Quebec Coach of the year in 1998, 1999, and 2000, coach of the year of the Canadian Military Land forces in 2002 and has served as coach at over 20 world cup competitions. He has coached athletes on the biathlon Canadian National Team, US Olympic track and field, hockey (NHL), football (NFL), basketball (NBA), baseball (MLB), golf (PGA) and many amateur and youth sports. Ayotte was head strength coach at Poliquin Performance Center during 2002-2004 and has been the High Performance Director at Central Institute for Human Performance (CIHP) in St. Louis since 2005. Nelson has been an innovator of sports training and physical fitness with several supplement lines and training systems to his credit.
Nelson and his wife Esther have two children, Jeremy and Nicolas.
Scott Masters
Video Coach
Scott Masters is entering his third year as video coach with the Blues. He was a volunteer assistant coach for the Denver University hockey program prior to coming to St. Louis. Before going to Denver, Masters served a four-year stint with the NHL's Florida Panthers.
He joined the Florida Panthers in 2001 as video coach. He produced live breakdowns and analysis of team games with real time communication to the Panthers bench. Masters reviewed and analyzed game film of individual players, team and opponents. He also scouted National, American, Junior and NCAA hockey league games while at Florida.
Masters served a four-month stint as a coach for the Boston franchise in the Original Stars Hockey League in 2004. He managed Boston's 12-man roster, including four NHL all-stars, in the inaugural 4-on-4 elite eight-team league.
The Arvada, Colo., native earned his communications degree from Colorado State in 2000. Masters played for CSU's hockey team for three seasons. Masters was a media relations student assistant from 1998-2000 at Colorado State and was the sports information contact for men's ice hockey at the University of Massachusetts from 2000-01.
Scott and his wife Carrie reside in Ladue, Mo.
