ST. LOUIS — In the moments after a 5-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 18, St. Louis Blues general manager Doug Armstrong approached associate coach Steve Ott with a potentially life-changing proposal.
Ott, who has been on the Blues’ staff for nine seasons and has interviewed for multiple NHL head coaching positions in that time, was offered the top job with the Blues’ AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds.
The 43-year-old got on the phone with his wife, Erica, back in St. Louis.
“We talked for about two minutes,” Ott recalled Monday. “I thought the decision was an easy one. It’s a great opportunity for myself, but not only that, I get to stay in the organization that I truly love and help develop our young guys. When you get asked if you’d consider that opportunity, I take it as a big honor.”
It was a frantic few days for Ott, who returned to town to gather belongings and see his family before heading to Springfield, Mass. He arrived on Jan. 21 and took over a team that was 13-19-6 and had lost seven of eight games before coach Steve Konowalchuk was fired.
Ott’s first interaction with his new players was a meeting at the team’s facility.
“I wanted to be open and honest with them from the get-go,” Ott said. “There was a feel in the room — when you’re struggling in the standings, it’s a tough place sometimes coming to the rink. You want to continue to get better, and you just want information, and why and how can we help?
“The experiences that I’ve learned throughout the game, from line changes to setting up the next shift. I want to really help with them, so when they do get that opportunity, it’s seamless to the NHL.”
Welcome to Springy, Coach Ott! pic.twitter.com/gZG9veTBj9
— Springfield Thunderbirds (@ThunderbirdsAHL) January 21, 2026
Springfield forward Dylan Peterson, 24, a third-round pick of the Blues in 2020, was immediately impressed.
“He came in, and he was all fired up — like super enthusiastic, cracking some jokes,” Peterson said. “He was telling us how excited he is to be here and how present he’s going to be with all of us. He’s just like a ball of energy, and you feed off it.”
Ott had his first practice with the Thunderbirds on Wednesday. It was fast-paced, and he changed a lot of the drills. He talked about the details of the game in his opening meeting with players and wanted to work on some of the concepts.
Players were all ears, knowing their new coach played 14 seasons in the NHL and is coming from St. Louis, where they want to be.
“We have so many young guys here that we can all learn a lot from what he has to offer,” Peterson said. “I’ve already had some conversations with him about what I need to do to take that next step and get to the next level. He was just so enthusiastic and passionate. You could tell right away that he’s going to be a huge help for all of us.”
Ott’s coaching debut came two days later against the Toronto Marlies. The Thunderbirds trailed 3-1 heading into the third period. Ott walked into the locker room, and this time it wasn’t Jim Montgomery’s job to talk up the team.
“I thought we were the better team after two periods,” Ott said. “They got the jitters out in the first, and that energy that you get with that coach bump. But after the second period, we saw real good play coming, and it was one of those that if you stick with the game, we’re going to be right back in it.”
One specific word Ott used stuck out to Peterson — one Ott has used a lot since taking over.
“He just said ‘resilient’ hockey, that’s how we have to play,” Peterson said. “We were playing good hockey. We just had to put a couple in the back of the net, and we did.”
The Thunderbirds picked up goals from Chris Wagner and Matt Luff, tying the score 3-3, and then in the first minute of overtime, won on a goal from Aleksanteri Kaskimaki to Theo Lindstein.
“The boys responded,” Ott said. “A monster goal by our top two prospects there in overtime. I thought the character — we have some great leadership pieces alongside those young guys — and the energy, you could feel it in the building, you could feel it in the dressing room. It was a great feeling to get your first win.”
BIG TIME WIN pic.twitter.com/vXFdLzRbUv
— Springfield Thunderbirds (@ThunderbirdsAHL) January 24, 2026
The players presented Ott with a game puck for his first coaching win, and Ott, in turn, handed Luff what he calls the “grit puck.” The Thunderbirds already award a football helmet to the player of the game, but Ott wants to reward players for contributions beyond the scoreboard.
“It’s something I’ve been thinking about,” he said. “I’ve had some coaches over the years, they’ve given certain things away to reward the team. For me, it’s not the guy that’s going out there and scoring all the goals or setting up all the plays. It’s the overall grit of the game.
“It could be important blocks, it could be important skins or areas that he’s sacrificing for his teammates. I just think that’s so valuable to other players that they see that and the recognition that usually doesn’t get talked about. I feel it’s very important in our game.”
After the game, Montgomery texted to congratulate him.
“I’m really excited for him,” Montgomery said. “You can tell he’s jacked up. The text messages are flying back and forth, and that’s natural. He’s going to be an excellent head coach. I told him how much I believe he’s ready for this and how good he will be at it because that’s what I truly believe in my heart.”
“He has all the qualities of understanding the feel for the dressing room, feel for the players, understanding the X’s and O’s of the game, understanding momentum in a game and the players that create momentum and the players that don’t.”
Ott was appreciative. He considers Montgomery a mentor and has taken a lot from his coaching book.
“He’s a Jack Adams-winning coach,” Ott said. “I’m lucky enough to work beside him. For the most part, I think we see the game very similarly, and it makes it very easy to talk hockey.
“It’s constant talking, text messaging, calls, picking each other’s brains on situational play. It’s great because I can give the input of the young guys and the development down here.”
Ott hopes to join Montgomery in the NHL coaching ranks someday. This experience will help, he believes, as will the experience from those interviews for jobs he didn’t get.
“I’m very thankful for Army to let me take those interviews,” Ott said. “They’re very detailed, and when you present those, you’re just continuing to grab this valuable experience. When you get those opportunities, you just continue to build yourself as a coach. I wasn’t ready the first few years for that opportunity, even after winning (the Stanley Cup in 2019). It’s the 10 years later to get your opportunity that when you do, you want to be very thorough and ready to seize that moment.”
“The puzzle piece that’s missing is the head coaching experience. You do well in these interviews and you’re right down to the end, and the final card is (experience). You have to earn it. That’s where my mindset is, earning those opportunities, and I definitely want to be a head coach in the NHL someday.”
Ott believes the coaches he’s played for and coached under have provided that experience, and now he can apply it in Springfield.
“I’ve had great head coaches as a player, from Dave Tippett, the Ken Hitchcocks, Lindy Ruffs — and then as a coach, working alongside Craig Berube, Claude Julien and Monty,” he said. “These are high-end coaches. So you take bits and pieces that you love from each one of them, and you make it your own.
“I’ve watched the head coaches over these 10 years in St. Louis — how they deal with their staff, the medical and the training staff, as well, and the managers. I’ve kind of been observing for a long time and waiting for this type of opportunity, so that when I have it now, I would be ready for it.”
Now it’s his job to get Blues prospects ready for their opportunities, including Otto Stenberg, who went back to Springfield on Monday because of a rule that if he played any more games in St. Louis before the Olympic break in February, he wouldn’t have been eligible to play for the Thunderbirds during the break.
“You’re watching a young player gain his confidence in the NHL, which isn’t easy to do,” Ott said. “I think he’s got a great engine on him. He’s going to come down here, he’s going to play in all situations and continue to develop, so that when he does go back, he’ll be a player that sticks and has a great future in the NHL.”
Otto Stenberg has been assigned to the @ThunderbirdsAHL. https://t.co/acsf2QF0iN
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) January 26, 2026
As far as Ott’s own future? If an NHL head coaching job doesn’t come calling this offseason, will he be back in Springfield in 2026-27?
“I’m very patient in my mindset right now,” Ott said. “We’ll kind of revisit that in the summertime or after the season. The goal is to get this team and prospects and depth pieces playing as good as we can. If we do so and sneak into a playoff spot, I think that would be a great ending to this season.”
He said he wouldn’t be able to make a move like this without the support of his family, which will remain in St. Louis while he’s in Springfield.
“My wife has stuck by me through the whole hockey career, and especially my last five years as a player, I was a little bit of a suitcase there for a while,” Ott said. “We got extremely lucky to be in the Blues organization for the last 10 years coaching. She knew that this day would come one day. She knows the goal of myself, and to have her support and the family behind me, it means the world.”
“I’m very lucky the amount of support she’s given me. They are going to stay back in St. Louis. The kids are in school, they’re set up with their hockey teams, and that’s most important, that they continue to stay comfortable right now.”
Meanwhile in Springfield, both Ott and the Thunderbirds already feel comfortable.
“It’s been a really easy transition,” Peterson said. “Everyone is completely on board. We’ve dug ourselves a bit of hole here, sitting in last place in our division. We want to be a playoff team, and you’ve got to learn as quickly as possible and come together. It’s a lot of fun, and I’m really excited to go to the rink every day. I have high expectations for this group behind Otter.”