Ken Gernander

Gernander was born on June 30, 1969, in Coleraine, Minnesota, to parents Bob and Bonnie Gernander. His father was a National Hockey League (NHL) scout for the Dallas Stars. His younger brothers Jerry and Jim also played professional ice hockey. ==Playing career==

Amateur During his senior year at Greenway High School, Gernander was named a finalist for the Minnesota Mr. Hockey Award as the most outstanding senior high school hockey player in the state of Minnesota. He was also named to the 1987 Associated Press' First All-State hockey team. Due to his athletic ability and high grade point average, Gernander received a scholarship to play collegiate hockey at the University of Minnesota for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Before enrolling at the University of Minnesota, Gernander was drafted in the fifth round, 96th overall, by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1987 NHL entry draft. Collegiate career Gernander spent four seasons with the Minnesota Golden Gophers from 1987 to 1991. and was predicted to win the Western Collegiate Hockey Association's (WCHA) Rookie of the Year. Gernander helped the Gophers begin the season with a 5–0 winning record. Upon losing to the Maine Black Bears in the 1988 NCAA playoffs, Gernander finished his freshman season with 14 goals and 14 assists for 28 points through 44 games. Gernander experienced a dip in scoring in his sophomore season after Dave Snuggerud and Tom Chorske returned to the Gophers, but quickly picked up again in his junior year. After switching from centreman to a winger position, Gernander quickly surpassed his previous season's career-highs. At the end of October 1989, Gernander scored four goals in one game against the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux. He missed a week of game-play due to an illness. He scored two goals in his return to the Gophers lineup on January 13, 1990. Professional Gernander concluded his collegiate career in May 1991 by signing a professional contract with the Winnipeg Jets. Gernander scored his first career NHL goal in his NHL debut on March 9, 1996, against the Washington Capitals. When Gernander retired after the 2004–05 season, he held numerous AHL records. He ranked as the league's all-time leader in career playoff games played (123) and was the highest-scoring American-born player in AHL history, recording 624 points over 973 games. Legacy Following his retirement, Gernander's number 12 became the only number retired by the Wolf Pack, and he was inducted into the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame. Gernander was also inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2013. ==Coaching career==

After his retirement, Gernander spent two seasons as Hartford's assistant coach. During his tenure with the team, Gernander helped lead the Wolf Pack to a division title and became the 18th head coach in AHL history to earn 300 career wins. Gernander replaced John Tortorella as head coach of the Rangers for one game after the latter earned a one-game suspension. The Rangers lost 5-3 and the Capitals tied their playoff series 3–3. He spent 10 years as head coach before being released on May 16, 2017. While the Rangers offered to hire him as a scout, Gernander instead chose to re-enroll at the University of Minnesota and finish his degree. Gernander briefly served as a scout for the New York Islanders before accepting an appointment as head coach of Franklin Pierce University's men’s ice hockey team in May 2024. The Ravens went 2-25-2 in his only year as head coach. ==Personal life==

Gernander and his wife have three children together, Miranda, Micah and McKenna. while McKenna played ice hockey at Nichols College. ==Career statistics==

Regular season and playoffs Coaching record ==Awards and honors==