St. Louis Blues today announced the hiring of Greg Cronin and Vaclav “Vinny” Prospal as assistant coaches on multi-year contracts through the 2026-27 season.
In addition, Elliott Mondou has been promoted from video coach to assistant general manager under Alexander Steen and Jeremy Coupal has signed a multi-year contract to join the Blues as assistant coach – video.
The additions of Cronin, Prospal, and Coupal round out the coaching staff for Head Coach Jim Montgomery for the 2026-27 season. Returning are David Alexander as director of scoring and Ryan Stacy as video coordinator.
“Greg, Vinny, and Jeremy represent the best coaching talent coming to the St. Louis Blues,” Montgomery said. “Greg is a skilled teacher of defensive tactics and penalty kill with experience as a coach and assistant who will benefit our doctors and junior highs alike; Vinny brings a creative offensive mind that has been shaped by his success as a power play and five-on-five player, providing valuable expertise to our forward and power play team. Jeremy is a top-notch video coach with exceptional NHL experience so we bring back his unique experience with the NHL.”
Cronin, 63, served as head coach of the AHL’s Iowa Wild last season, posting a 27-36-9 record. The Arlington, Massachusetts, native’s coaching career stretches back nearly 40 years, including assistant and head coaching roles in the NHL, AHL, and NCAA. Cronin served as an assistant coach with the New York Islanders (1999-03, 2014-18) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (2011-14), and was most recently the head coach of the Anaheim Ducks (2023-25). In the AHL, he spent five seasons as the head coach of the Colorado Eagles (2018-23), where he led the team to four postseason appearances. He also spent two seasons as the head coach of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (2003-05). Colloquially, Cronin had a six-year tenure as the head coach at Northeastern University (2005-11) and served two seasons as the head coach at the University of Maine (1995-97). He also held assistantships at Maine, Colorado College, and Colby College. Cronin has had a long association with the United States Developmental Program (USNTDP) and has been a part of Team USA’s staff at several international tournaments, including four World Championships (1997, 1999, 2011, 2012) and two World Junior Championships (1997, 1998).
Prospal, 51, spent the past three seasons as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, helping the team qualify for the postseason each season while compiling a regular season record of 112-76-28. As a player, the Ceske Budejovice native enjoyed a 16-year career and ranks sixth among Czech-born players in NHL history with 1,108 career games and seventh with 765 career points. Prospal has also represented Czechia in many international competitions, including the 2006 Winter Olympics where he led the team to a bronze medal and the 2000 and 2005 World Championships where he led them to gold medals.
Coupal, 37, has spent the past few seasons serving as Team Canada’s video coach, including most recently at the 2025 and 2026 Spengler Cups. Prior to his work with Hockey Canada, the forward from Mt-St-Hilaire, Quebec, spent seven seasons as a video coach for the Edmonton Oilers and three seasons as a video coordinator for the Nashville Predators.
