Oilers' openings?

The Boston Bruins are about to announce the hiring of Geoff Ward as an assistant coach under Claude Julien. Ward had been the head coach of the Springfield Falcons, the Edmonton Oilers' AHL affiliate. . . . You will recall that Jeff Truitt stepped down as head coach of the Kelowna Rockets and signed on as an assistant with the Falcons. No, Truitt apparently won't be named head coach. That job, instead, seems likely to go to Kelly Buchberger. . . . Also, the Oilers, it seems, are going to need an assistant coach with Craig Simpson said to be leaving the team for a spot on Hockey Night in Canada's telecast crew.

LW Mark Derlago, who came back from a broken neck to star for the Brandon Wheat Kings, has signed with the ECHL's Bakersfield Condors. Derlago, a nephew of former WHL scoring king Bill Derlago, led the WHL with 46 goals last season. He also had 35 assists. Derlago also served as the Wheat Kings' captain. He sat out the 2004-05 season after suffering a broken neck in a preseason game. . . . Amiga is out and the city of Kent, Wash., is looking for another deal for naming rights for the new arena that is to house the Seattle Thunderbirds. Amiga, which had agreed to pay US$10 million over 20 years for naming rights, didn’t place $2.5 million in an escrow account by Monday’s deadline, so that deal is off. . . . C Kyle Ross, who played out his WHL eligibility with the Regina Pats last season, will attend the U of Regina and play for the Cougars. Ross, who had 68 points 71 games last season, had a brief tryout with the AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals late last season. . . . D Alex Theriau, the sixth overall pick in the 2007 bantam draft, has signed with the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Theriau, 6-foot-1 and 175 pounds, is from Cowichan Valley, B.C., and played for the Burnaby Winter Club Bruins, who won the 2007 Western Canadian bantam championship. He had 45 points and 68 penalty minutes in 65 games. . . . The Pats have signed D Alex Pym, a 6-foot-1, 182-pounder from the midget AAA Winnipeg Thrashers. He was the 51st pick in the 2006 bantam draft. Pym had 45 points and 104 penalty minutes in 58 games last season. . . . The Tri-City Americans have signed another Winnipegger -- D Lane Werbowski, 16, who is 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds. He played for the midget AAA Winnipeg Monarchs, totaling 32 points and 48 penalty minutes in 35 games. He was the 113th pick in the 2006 bantam draft.