"That was one of the biggest factors," Ott said. "There was a lot of factors going into this, but the organization, I know first-hand obviously from wearing the jersey, the classiness of the St. Louis organization, the respect I have for Army and also the team on the ice. I believe in these players, and to possibly have the chance to win a Stanley Cup as now a coach would mean just as much as a player because I really do believe in this group and going forward I think that's a really key factor."

Ott will now be coaching a Blues' team in which he's been teammates with 20 of the 23 players on the roster, excluding David Perron, Nail Yakupov and Carter Hutton. Is that a positive or can it be a negative being that close to a group that he'll, in part, be in charge of?

"I think they know how I've treated them the three years that I played there," Ott said. "I think there's mutual respect there, obviously most of them are friends as well. They know how I am as a person, I think that's key. Knowing behind the scenes and knowing guys on an individual basis, I would talk to them as a teammate the same way I probably would as a coach and when you do that, it's not a negative thing. You want the best out of your player and going forward we're going to have the same talks."