Wednesday . . .

As expected, the Chilliwack Bruins introduced Marc Habscheid as their general manager/head coach on Wednesday evening.
Thus ends the Habscheid Watch, something that had been ongoing for the last number of months during which time he is believed to have been in contact with, or been contacted by, the Kamloops Blazers, Lethbridge Hurricanes, Moose Jaw Warriors, Portland Winter Hawks, Prince George Cougars, Regina Pats and Swift Current Broncos.
Habscheid was introduced to the folks of Chilliwack by team president Darryl Porter at a news conference at Minter Gardens in Chilliwack.
There was nothing released on the length of Habscheid’s contract. Porter would say only that the deal is “in excess of three years.”
Habscheid hasn’t coached since being fired by the Boston Bruins two years ago after a stint as associate coach under head coach Dave Lewis. Habscheid did help out with the midget AAA Swift Current Legionnaires a bit this season; his son, Zach, 17, whose WHL rights belong to the Swift Current Broncos, was a defenceman on the team.
Habscheid hasn’t coached in the WHL since guiding the Kelowna Rockets to the 2004 Memorial Cup championship as the host team. The Rockets had won the WHL championship under Habscheid the previous season.
He also spent two seasons as head coach of the Kamloops Blazers, getting them into the championship final in the spring of 1999. His contract wasn’t renewed after that season; he joined the Rockets early the next season after general manager Bruce Hamilton decided to replace head coach Garth Malarchuk.
Also on Wednesday in Chilliwack it was announced that . . .
1. Porter has agreed to a long-term deal as president;
2. Bob Rouse has agreed to a long-term contract as assistant GM/assistant coach; and,
3. Dave Archibald will serve as an assistant coach, as well has hockey operations advisor and community liaison.
Habscheid, Rouse and Archibald were teammates on the Minnesota North Stars in the late 1980s.
“I’m not going to lie — that played a big part in it,” Habscheid told Steve Ewen of the Vancouver Province. “We get along real well. They’re both quality people and quality hockey men. Arch is a laid back guy who loves being around the kids. Bob is a real detail guy.”
Habscheid replaces Darrell May and Jim Hiller with the Bruins. May, the GM, was fired in January; Hiller was fired immediately after season’s send. They both had been on the job since the birth of the Bruins prior to the 2006-07 season.
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Habscheid’s signing leaves only the Everett Silvertips and Lethbridge Hurricanes without head coaches, although the Moose Jaw Warriors are pondering the fate of Dave Hunchak.
Everett GM Doug Soetaert has said he wants to go to the NHL draft and survey the situation, and that he doesn’t expect to have a coach in place until perhaps early July.
In Lethbridge, the board of directors plans on hiring a general manager and then having him conduct the search for a head coach.
In Moose Jaw, Jeff Truitt, the newly hired director of hockey operations, said when he was hired that he hadn’t yet made a decision on whether to retain the services of Hunchak, who has been the Warriors’ head coach for two seasons.
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The Province’s Steve Ewen also reported that the signing of Habscheid hasn’t prompted C Drew Shore, a second-round selection by the Bruins in the 2006 bantam draft, to change his mind about joining Chilliwack. Shore told Ewen that he remains committed to attending the U of Denver playing for the Pioneers. Shore, from Englewood, Colo, has spent the last two seasons in the U.S. National Team Development Program at Ann Arbor, Mich. “I was a big fan of Jim Hiller’s,” the 18-year-old Shore told Ewen, “and I thought he had a chance to be successful. And I’ve heard that the new guy has been successful. I just like a lot of things about Denver right now.”
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Former WHL player and assistant coach Mark Howell is the new head coach of the U of Calgary Dinos hockey team. Howell stepped down after three years as head coach of the BCHL’s Westside Warriors to join the Dinos.
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The Prince George Cougars have signed D Josh Smith, the 19th overall selection in the 2009 bantam draft. Smith, who is from Lacombe, Alta., had 18 points and 140 penalty minutes with the bantam Red Deer Rebels this season.
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The Los Angeles Kings have said they won’t offer a contract to G Linden Rowat, who was the 124th pick in the NHL’s 2007 draft. Rowat was 19-24-4 this season with the Regina Pats. He got a late-season look with the ECHL’s Ontario Reign, going 1-1-0 with a 2.91 GAA and a .921 save percentage.
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C Justin McCrae, who played out his major junior eligibility with the Spokane Chiefs last season, has committed to the UBC Thunderbirds. McCrae played five seasons in the WHL. The Chiefs acquired him from the Saskatoon Blades and he was with Spokane when it won the 2008 Memorial Cup.
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