Fuel roster starts with energy, character

When Scott Hillman became the Indy Fuel's head coach, he said he wanted a hard-working team that would be fun to watch.

So far, the five players signed to the team seem to fill exactly what he's looking for.

The Fuel have five players signed as part of a roster that will eventually number at least 20 by the start of camp in October (with 6-8 of those being from the Chicago Blackhawks' roster), and there's no secret they're following that personality.

Link roundup: Jim Waite back with Hawks & more

A few links from around the hockey world of interest to local hockey fans:

• Recently posted by WIBC: an interview with Fuel head coach Scott Hillman done by Ray Steele.
• The Chicago Blackhawks have a familiar face coming in as their goaltending coach -- Jim Waite, who played goal for the IHL Ice throughout the 1990s. 
• Former Indiana Ice assistant coach Adam Krug has been named the head coach at Adrian College, his alma mater. Adrian plays in the NCAA's Div. III. Krug had previously been slated to be an assistant coach for the Green Bay Gamblers. 
• Adam's younger brother, former Ice defenseman Torey Krug, talked about Independence Day with BostonBruins.com last week. 
• A few Independence Day links: THN says the best American team might be one that surprises you and lists the top 10 moments in American hockey history (#1 is an obvious one, and there's a glaring omission that's as big as a Squaw Valley).
• Thoughts & prayers go out to the Ottawa Senators and GM Bryan Murray in his battle with cancer. 
• The Detroit Red Wings featured former Ice coach and current Grand Rapids Griffins coach Jeff Blashill speaking to the team's prospects at development camp. Blashill won the Clark Cup with the Ice in 2009 and the AHL's Calder Cup in Grand Rapids in 2013. 

Q&A with Fuel head coach Scott Hillman

On Wednesday, the Indy Fuel named Scott Hillman the first head coach in team history. Hillman comes to the Fuel after five years with the CHL's Missouri Mavericks, and two championship-winning years prior to that with the Knoxville Ice Bears of the SPHL. 

Fuel coach Scott Hillman in Missouri (Pitch.com)

The 40-year-old Hillman is a veteran of nine professional seasons -- nearly all with the CHL's Odessa Jackalopes -- before turning his skates in for a suit and heading behind the bench in 2007. His first two seasons, both in Knoxville, ended with SPHL championships. He then went to Missouri -- based in the Kansas City suburb of Independence -- and started the franchise, posting five successful seasons. This year's Mavericks team was the CHL regular season champion. The Fuel will be Hillman's third head coaching stint, in a third different league, and will be his second time coaching an expansion franchise. 

Hillman graduated from the University of Windsor (Ontario) -- where he played college hockey --  and also has a master's degree from the University of Texas.

I had the opportunity to chat with Coach Hillman about a variety of topics Thursday afternoon. It's easy to see how he's described as a "rising star" in hockey coaching circles. He'll be very well-liked very quickly in Indianapolis as the first head coach of the Fuel. 

Our conversation is below the jump:

Fuel name Scott Hillman head coach

New Fuel coach Scott Hillman. Photo: ThePitch.com

Scott Hillman has been named the first head coach of the ECHL's Indy Fuel.

Hillman comes to the Fuel from the Central Hockey League's Missouri Mavericks, where he led the team to the regular season title in the league this year. He was also the Southern Professional Hockey League Coach of the Year in 2009 with the Knoxville Ice Bears.

He had been the only coach in the Mavericks' five-year history, posting a record of 186-132-26 in his five years with the Kansas City-area based team. He began his coaching career in Knoxville, and went 67-32-13 in two years there from 2007-09, winning the SPHL title both seasons.