BLOG: Mark Stuart ready to share his experience behind the Oilers bench

EDMONTON, AB - New Oilers assistant coach Mark Stuart is ready to share his 13 years of pro experience with the next generation of NHLers.
The 38-year-old was
announced as the latest addition to Head Coach Jay Woodcroft's staff
on Tuesday. Stuart is coming off a long pro-career where he suited up for 673 NHL games, split between the Boston Bruins and Winnipeg Jets - including 23 games for the Atlanta Thrashers before their move to Manitoba.
After finishing his hockey career with the Mannheim Eagles in Germany, Stuart turned to coaching as a way of staying close to the game. The former NHL defenceman is ready to be back at hockey's highest level.
"It's an amazing opportunity, I'm ecstatic to be joining this organization and this staff," Stuart said on Oilers Now on 630 CHED with Cam Moon. "I've known a few people over the years, but I've heard nothing but good things about a lot of the people in the organization. I'm feeling very fortunate right now and I'm excited to get going."

The Oilers had
announced the majority of their coaching staff
back on July 7, but there was work that still needed to be done to replace the departing Brian Wiseman. Stuart, who had been coaching as an assistant at Colorado College found out about the Oilers interest a few weeks ago.
"I got the call from Jay and it built momentum from there. I didn't know what kind of direction he wanted to go in filling this position but as soon as I got that initial phone call, it was exciting," Stuart said. "I was going to jump at it and do my best to grab the opportunity. Now it's about making the transition, but my family can't wait to get out and get settled and started with the team."
There was already some familiarity with Stuart inside the organization. The coach had worked under Jay Woodcroft's brother Todd at the University of Vermont prior to his role with Colorado College. The last two years in vermont and Colorado have been instrumental in developing Stuart for his current role.
"I learned a ton being under Todd, and Kris Mayotte at Colorado," Stuart said. "Todd is someone I played under at Winnipeg and we got to know each other really well there. He's very similar to Jay who has been around the game a long time and has worn a bunch of different hats. He was massive that year I spent with him and Vermont and we keep in touch and bounce ideas off each other."

As Stuart's time as an NHL player was coming to a close, he started to turn his focus to coaching as a way of staying around the game. Stuart admits in his final few years as an active player, he was much more in-tune with how his coaches taught the game to help prepare him for life after hockey.
"You can kind of see the end coming, in the last three-four years it was something I took a lot more seriously and I had to have my ears and my eyes out while I was still playing," Stuart said. "I was able to get some opportunities coming back from Germany and stepped right into it. I'm glad I did; I was lucky enough I didn't have to spend much time away from the game."
As a coach, so much of your time is focused on disecting your own team. However, that doesn't mean Stuart wasn't able to pay attention to what would end up being his current employer.
"I of course watched a lot of their games. I ran the defence and powerplay at Colorado college, you're always trying to learn from the NHL game trends and how things are developing. We showed a lot of Edmonton Oiler clips to our players," Stuart said. "Knowing Jay a little bit, I know how he likes to work. He is extremely detailed. I think that's the exciting part for me, getting to work with this staff, this roster, and two of the best players in the world."