Pats have their man

Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post reports that the Regina Pats are naming Dale Derkatch as their head coach today.

Here's what Vanstone posted:

REGINA -- The Regina Pats are to announce this afternoon that Dale Derkatch will be their new head coach.

A media conference is scheduled for 3 p.m., at the Brandt Centre.

The 43-year-old Derkatch has been the director of hockey development at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame for five years. He coached the Notre Dame Hounds to the Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League title this past season.

Derkatch is one of the elite players in Pats history. He had 491 points, including 222 goals, in 204 regular-season games with the Pats between 1981 and 1985. The Pats retired Derkatch's uniform number (16) in 1998.

The Pats have been looking for a head coach since July 11, when Curtis Hunt announced he was leaving to become an assistant to Ottawa Senators bench boss Craig Hartsburg. Hunt was the Pats' head coach for four seasons.

Parker's short list also consisted of Marc Habscheid and Terry Perkins. Habscheid coached with the Melfort Mustangs, Kamloops Blazers, Kelowna Rockets and the national junior team before spending the 2006-07 NHL season as an associate coach with the Boston Bruins.