James Dean Waite (born April 15, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former goaltender.[1] He currently serves as the goaltending coach for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Waite was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1981 and 1982 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Sherbrooke.[2]
Waite was one of the highest-rated goalies in the late 1980s and many scouts believed he had the potential to become a star.[citation needed] He was named the best goaltender at the 1988 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and was also named to the tournament all-star team as Canada won the gold medal. He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft; the Blackhawks were already deep in goal with both Ed Belfour and Dominik Hašek (although Hasek could not come to North America without defecting at the time).[3] While Waite received the bulk of the starts in the backup role to Belfour for Chicago, with Hasek playing just 25 games in 2 seasons, Waite did not exhibit strong skills and was later sent to the San Jose Sharks, and eventually the Phoenix Coyotes.[4] After 2001, Waite played the rest of his career in Germany, playing six years for ERC Ingolstadt in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga[5] and signed in January 2010 for Nürnberg Ice Tigers.[6]
Waite's brother, Stéphane, was the goaltending coach for the Montreal Canadiens. He previously served as the Blackhawks' goaltending coach from 2005 to 2009.[7]