1. The Lethbridge Hurricanes are scheduled to hold two news conferences next week — one on Monday, the other on Thursday. Presumably, they will introduce a new head coach at one and unveil their new logo at the other. . . . You will know which one is to introduce the coach if it opens with Drake singing What’s My Name?
2. Glen Hanlon, who resigned last month as the Vancouver Giants’ lead assistant coach, has confirmed that he is back as the head coach of the Belarussian national team. . . . “I just felt I needed more of a challenge,” Hanlon told Greg Douglas for his Saturday column in the Vancouver Sun. “I’ve had the itch to be a head coach again and with Belarus hosting the world hockey championships in 2014, it seemed like a perfect fit. I was part of the Belarus presentation five years ago to land the tournament. Now I’ve got the opportunity to take it the next step by coaching and helping with their player development program.” . . . Douglas’s column is right here.
3. The NBA final resumes Sunday with the San Antonio Spurs back in Miami hoping to take a 2-0 lead over the Heat. Charles Barkley was saying Friday that he thinks the Spurs can sweep the Heat. Check that out right here.
4. How bad were the Pittsburgh Penguins beaten by the Boston Bruins in an Eastern Conference final that ended in a sweep on Friday night in Beantown? Here’s Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune: “This was the worst playoff series in franchise history. The most embarrassing. The most ridiculous. The most inexplicable.” . . . There’s more right here.
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THE COACHING GAME:
The Halifax Mooseheads, who won the Memorial Cup in Saskatoon last month, have signed general manager Cam Russell and head coach Dominique Ducharme to three-year contracts. . . . At the same time, assistant coaches Jim Midgley and Steve Hartley, and goaltending coach Eric Raymond have signed two-year contracts. . . . Russell has been GM since January 2009, while Ducharme and his staff are preparing for their third season in Halifax. In their first two seasons, the Mooseheads went 97-28-11.
Jon Calvano is back in the BCHL. Calvano, who spent the last three seasons as head coach of the BCHL’s Coquitlam Express, has signed on with the Langley Rivermen. He will work as the associate coach and assistant general manager. Bobby Henderson is Langley’s general manager and head coach.
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