Bob Hartley is capping a coaching career with a big win.
According to a report on TVA on May 22, the Hawkesbury born and raised professional hockey coach has decided to retire following Lokomotiv Yaroslav’s win of the Gagarin Cup, the championship trophy in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), which is Russia’s largest professional hockey league.
According to the KHL, Lokomotiv won the cup on May 21 in a 3-2 win against Ak Bars. Lokomotiv also won Gagarin Cup in 2025, and Hartley took over as head coach during the previous season. Hartley also coached the KHL’s Avangard Omsk when it was the Gagarain Cup in 2021, making him the first Canadian to win the trophy twice.
Hartley, 65, began his coaching career with his hometown’s Hawkesbury Jr. A Hawks and then proceeded to coach the Laval Titan in the QMJHL. He then coached the Cornwall Aces and Hershey Bears of the AHL. Hartley’s time as an NHL coach began in 1998 when he became the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. After leaving Colorado in 2002, Hartley coached the Atlanta Thrashers until 2007.
Hartley’s first coaching job in Europe was from 2011 to 2012 with the ZSC Lions in Zurich, Switzerland. He returned to Canada and the NHL that year and was head coach of the Calgary Flames until 2016. Hartley then went back overseas to coach the Latvian national team for several seasons. The KHL years of his career began in 2018 with Avangard Omsk and remained with that team until being appointed by Lokomotiv Yaroslav in 2025.
Robert Hartley will be in Hawkesbury on July 28 for the Paroisse St-Pierre-Apotre Golf Tournament as he is serving as Honourary Chair of the event. And of course, Hartley is also the namesake of the sports complex in Hawkesbury.
