The Philadelphia Flyers haven’t had a goaltending coach since Jeff Reese left the team under mysterious circumstances during the 2014-15 season, so that’s an important hole they’ll have to fill this offseason. Reports are that Ron Hextall could be interested in bringing an old friend to town to do so.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Flyers are believed to have interest in Kim Dillabaugh, who oversees goaltending development for the Los Angeles Kings. There’s just one problem: the Kings might refuse to let the Flyers interview him.
Dillabaugh has served in that role with the Kings since the 2003-07 season, but he didn’t join the Kings full time until last summer, when he left his goalie coach gig with the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets to focus solely on his Kings responsibilities. He added some goalie scouting duties to his repertoire when joining Los Angeles full time.
Here’s a look at every goaltender (who played significant time) that Dillabaugh worked with in Kelowna dating back to 2004-05 when he took the goaltending coach job there. There’s not much that stands out here, to be honest — a lot of run of the mill seasons from his major junior goaltenders. None of these guys have sniffed the NHL, or the AHL for that matter.
| Year | Team | Player | GP | Mins | GA | GAA | W | L | T | Saves | Save % | EN | SO |
| 2004-05 | Kelowna | Derek Yeomans | 54 | 3277 | 100 | 1.83 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 1205 | 0.923 | 0 | 6 |
| 2005-06 | Kelowna | Derek Yeomans | 50 | 2872 | 110 | 2.3 | 30 | 16 | 2 | 1175 | 0.914 | 3 | 4 |
| Kelowna | Kristofer Westblom | 26 | 1486 | 71 | 2.87 | 16 | 6 | 2 | 587 | 0.892 | 1 | 1 | |
| 2006-07 | Kelowna | Kristofer Westblom | 42 | 2460 | 125 | 3.05 | 14 | 26 | 2 | 1126 | 0.900 | 3 | 3 |
| Kelowna | Torrie Jung | 33 | 1874 | 108 | 3.46 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 932 | 0.896 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2007-08 | Kelowna | Kristofer Westblom | 43 | 2535 | 121 | 2.86 | 25 | 14 | 3 | 977 | 0.890 | 1 | 2 |
| Kelowna | Torrie Jung | 33 | 1842 | 86 | 2.8 | 13 | 12 | 5 | 703 | 0.891 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2008-09 | Kelowna | Adam Brown | 29 | 1514 | 51 | 2.02 | 18 | 5 | 1 | 529 | 0.912 | 1 | 2 |
| Kelowna | Kris Lazaruk | 26 | 1442 | 73 | 3.04 | 12 | 13 | 0 | 508 | 0.874 | 1 | 4 | |
| Kelowna | Mark Guggenberger | 25 | 1394 | 47 | 2.02 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 514 | 0.916 | 2 | 1 | |
| 2009-10 | Kelowna | Adam Brown | 59 | 3385 | 158 | 2.8 | 31 | 18 | 5 | 1497 | 0.905 | 3 | 6 |
| 2010-11 | Kelowna | Adam Brown | 60 | 3428 | 148 | 2.59 | 36 | 22 | 1 | 1609 | 0.916 | 5 | 3 |
| 2011-12 | Kelowna | Jordon Cooke | 25 | 1356 | 63 | 2.79 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 687 | 0.916 | 0 | 0 |
| 2012-13 | Kelowna | Jordon Cooke | 54 | 3151 | 133 | 2.53 | 37 | 14 | 3 | 1308 | 0.908 | 3 | 5 |
| Kelowna | Jackson Whistle | 21 | 1166 | 38 | 1.96 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 511 | 0.931 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2013-14 | Kelowna | Jordon Cooke | 51 | 3049 | 116 | 2.28 | 39 | 7 | 4 | 1373 | 0.922 | 3 | 4 |
| 2013-14 | Kelowna | Jackson Whistle | 22 | 1314 | 58 | 2.65 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 637 | 0.917 | 1 | 1 |
It’s always hard to get an exact read on the impact of a goaltending coach by just looking at the results, though, and that applies extra when you’re dealing with younger kids. So keep that in mind looking at the numbers above.
Dillabaugh is probably more known for work with Jonathan Bernier and Jonathan Quick in Los Angeles, but remember … he hasn’t been the actual goaltending coach in Los Angeles. He’s been the head of goalie development. Bill Ranford is L.A.’s goalie coach — the guy doing the day-to-day on-ice work with guys like Bernier and Quick.
If Dillabaugh’s coming to Philadelphia to be goalie coach, it would make sense to put more weight on the work he’s done hands-on with guys in Kelowna than the work he’s done largely from afar with the Kings.
Here’s some more context from Elliotte Friedman’s report:
The hurdle is at least one team (Carolina) asked to interview him a year ago, and was refused. It is possible Dillabaugh will be given a window after the draft, since the Kings want his expertise on goalies during the selection process. But that is not a guarantee. “Dean Lombardi does not believe in free trade,” one opposing executive laughed. … If Dillabaugh is not allowed to go, it will be interesting to see if the Flyers ask instead to speak to Bill Ranford, the Kings’ current coach.
