Kris Heeres returns for a 17th season as assistant coach for the 2022-23 campaign. The Abbotsford, British Columbia native is a 2006 graduate of Geneseo where he received his undergraduate degree in childhood education and special education.
Coach Heeres has manned the bench beside Head Coach Chris Schultz ’97 for his entire tenure, working together with the two-time Ed Jeremiah Award Winner for 16 seasons. Heeres has helped lead the Knights to 16 postseason appearances, five SUNYAC Championships (including each of the last four), six NCAA Tournament berths and four trips to the NCAA Frozen Four. The Knights’ coaching staff have been named the SUNYAC Coaching Staff of the Year five times, including the 2019-2020 award. Heeres helped guide the Knights to the program's first-ever National Championship Game appearance in 2022.
Heeres was named the 2022 AHCA Terry Flanagan Award Winner. One of the AHCA's major annual awards, the Terry Flanagan Award is presented to the assistant coach across all levels of NCAA Men's Ice Hockey whose career body of work best honors that of the award's name sake, a former player at New Hampshire and assistant coach at Bowling Green. Heeres is just the third NCAA Division III assistant coach to garner the honor since its introduction in 1997, and the first since 2014 when Steve Mattson, assistant coach at Norwich, earned the award.
Coach Heeres has recruited hundreds of players to Geneseo, including 13 All-Americans (18 awards), including eight First Team All-Americans, the 2019 USCHO Division III Player of the Year, Devin McDonald ’19 and the 2022 USCHO.com Rookie of the Year Peter Morgan '25. He has also helped many Knights continue their careers into professional hockey, both in North America and abroad.
In 2021-22, Heeres has helped the Knights to the No. 1 ranking in the USCHO.com Division III poll for the first time since the 1990-91 season. Geneseo has ranked within the USCHO.com Division III top-10 for over 60-consecutive weeks, dating back to the 2018-19 season.
In addition to his role as assistant coach of the men's ice hockey team, Heeres also serves as the Director of Development in the SUNY Geneseo Office of College Advancement. In 2016, Heeres earned the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) Outstanding Contribution award and in 2021 was recognized by Phi Theta Kappa as a selection for their Transfer Honor Roll.
A 2006 graduate of Geneseo and four-year member of the men’s ice hockey team, Heeres led the Knights to back-to-back SUNYAC Championships in 2005 and 2006 as a forward. He finished his playing career with 26 goals and 29 assists for 55 points and was named the 2002-03 SUNYAC Co-Rookie of the Year. Heeres has been a part of six of the Knights' seven SUNYAC Championships.
Prior to his arrival at Geneseo, Heeres had an excellent career in the British Columbia Junior Hockey League where he spent time with the Merritt Centennials and Burnaby Express.
Heeres and his wife, Meredith, a 2007 Geneseo graduate, live in nearby Avon, N.Y. with their sons, Ethan, A.J. and Landon.
