Showing posts with label Tim Leonard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tim Leonard. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

WHL: Coaching news and player moves

As you may have guessed, I'm away for a bit. We have been celebrating the first anniversary of Dorothy's kidney transplant. Yes, a good time is being had by all. . . . I will be back on a regular basis late next week but, for now, here's an attempt at catching up on a few things:








F Lukáš Vantuch (Calgary, Lethbridge, 2005-07) signed a contract through Nov. 5 with Landshut (Germany, DEL2). Last season, with Landshut, he had 49 points, including 17 goals, in 53 games. He had been on a tryout with Dusseldorf (Germany, DEL) in August but didn't win a contract. . . .
F Antonín Honejsek (Moose Jaw, 2009-11) has been assigned on loan by the Espoo Blues (Finland, Liiga) to Kiekko-Vantaa (Finland, Mestis). This season, with the Blues, he had one goal in two games while averaging nine minutes of ice time per game. . . .
D Patrik Vrána (Moose Jaw, Prince George, 2006-07) was released by Cracovia Krakow (Poland, Ekstraliga) by mutual agreement. Last season, with Polonia Bytom (Poland, Ekstraliga), he had four goals and seven assists in 32 games.
---


The Kamloops Blazers have added Mike Needham to their coaching staff, replacing associate coach Mark Ferner, who resigned this week and now is the general manager and head coach with the BCHL's Vernon Vipers. . . . Ferner was in his second season back with the Blazers. . . . Needham, who has been working at the Okanagan Hockey Academy in Penticton. For the past three seasons, he has been the head coach of OHA's bantam prep team. . . . At the same time, Needham has worked as the Blazers' skills coach. . . . Needham played three seasons (1987-90) with the Blazers and is the father of Blazers captain Matt Needham. . . . OHA commitments will keep Mike from joining the Blazers until Monday. . . . Ferner, meanwhile, is a familiar face in Vernon where he coached the Vipers to three straight BCHL titles and won the 2009 and 2010 RBC Cups as national champions. . . . Any chance of Ferner becoming the Blazers' head coach went by the wayside in January when the team brought back Guy Charron as head coach following the departure of Dave Hunchak. If there was any doubt after that, it disappeared when Don Hay returned to Kamloops as the Blazers' head coach over the summer. Hay had spent the past 10 seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Giants. . . . In Vernon, Ferner takes over from Jason Williamson, who resigned as GM/head coach citing personal reasons. . . .

The Kamloops Blazers' roster is at 26 after they released F Mitch Friesen, 18, on Wednesday. From Surrey, B.C., Friesen had a goal and two assists in 21 games last season. He has a goal and three assists in 68 regular-season games. . . . He was a fourth-round selection in the 2011 bantam draft. . . . Kamloops now is carrying three goaltenders, eight defencemen and 15 forwards. . . . That number includes F Mike Winther, 20, who was acquired from the Calgary Hitmen for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft and a sixth-rounder in 2017. Winther was selected by the Prince Albert Raiders with the sixth-overall pick of the 2009 bantam draft. He was later dealt to Calgary and now is into his fifth WHL season. . . . In 231 regular-season games, the native of Trochu, Alta., has 142 points, including 70 goals. Last season, injuries limited him to 31 games. He had 26 points, including seven goals. A second-round pick by the Dallas Stars in the NHL's 2012 draft, Winther didn't sign and now is a free agent. . . . The Blazers also have D Brady Gaudet and G Bolton Pouliot as 20s. They also own the WHL rights to veteran F Chase Souto, 20, but his career is in doubt because of concussion-related issues. . . .

The Everett Silvertips have traded F Zane Jones, 20, to the Lethbridge Hurricanes for a fourth-round pick in the 2015 bantam draft. Jones, from Olds, Alta., was a fifth-round selection by the Chilliwack Bruins in the 2009 bantam draft. He has 104 points, including 48 goals, in 192 regular-season games split between Everett, the Calgary Hitmen, Victoria Royals and Chilliwack. Last season, he had 24 points, 11 of them goals, in 42 games with Calgary and two goals and two assists in 11 games with Everett. . . . The deal leaves Lethbridge with four 20-year-olds, the others being D Tyler Bell and D Nick Walters and F Riley Sheen, who turns 20 on Dec. 21. . . . WHL teams have to declare a maximum of three 20-year-olds by Oct. 15. . . . The Silvertips are down to three -- D Ben Betker, who turns 20 on Sept. 29, F Brayden Low and F Kohl Bauml, who will be 20 on Nov. 25. . . .

The Regina Pats acquired Ukrainian F Pavel Padakin, 20, from the Calgary Hitmen for a third-round selection in the 2017 bantam draft. Padakin is a two-spotter -- a 20-year-old import. To make room for him, Regina released sophomore F Max Kammerer, who is from Germany. . . . Padakin was to have played in the KHL this season, but after he signed with HC Donbass Donetsk, it took a leave from the league due to the political situation there. . . . Last season, Padakin had 54 points, 27 of them goals, with the Hitmen. The previous season, as a freshman, he had 22 goals and 16 assists in 70 games. He scored in his only game with Calgary this season. . . . Regina also has four other 20s on its roster -- F Logan McVeigh, F Chandler Stephenson, F Braden Christoffer and F Patrick D'Amico. Stephenson is expected to play in the Washington Capitals' organization. . . . Regina's other import is Russian D Sergey Zborovskiy, a 17-year-old freshman. . . . Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post has written a terrific feature on Padakin in which he talks about the situation in Ukraine. As this is written, the feature isn't on the newspaper's website, but it should be right here sometime Thursday morning. . . .

The Hitmen are left with three 20-year-olds -- F Connor Rankin, F Adam Tambellini and D Kenten Helgesen. . . . After the New York Rangers returned Tambellini, Alan Caldwell of Small Thoughts At Large tweeted: "If I'm not mistaken, the return of Adam Tambellini to the WHL means the Hitmen owe the Winterhawks a 2015 4th round pick." . . . Calgary also is down to two imports in sophomore Russian F Radel Fazleev, 18, and freshman Pavel Karnaukhov, a 17-year-old Belarussian. . . .

On Wednesday night, the Calgary Hitmen announced that they have dealt F Linden Penner, 19, to the Moose Jaw Warriors for a conditional sixth-round selection in the 2016 bantam draft. From Sherwood Park, Alta., Penner was a 10th-round selection by the Saskatoon Blades in the 2010 bantam draft. He has four goals and four assists in 41 regular-season WHL games. All the points came in 39 games with Calgary last season. He also has played one game with the Everett Silvertips. He was pointless in one game with the Hitmen this season. . . .

The Warriors had two veteran players -- F Scott Cooke, 20, and F Brandon Potomak, 19 -- leave them after spending a lot of Saturday's home-opener on the team's fourth line. Matthew Gourlie of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald has that story right here. . . . Cooke's departure leaves the Warriors with three 20-year-olds -- F Tanner Eberle, F Jack Rodewald and F Jaimen Yakubowski. . . . Eberle still is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens. . . .

The Prince Albert Raiders are expected to announce the signing of a new assistant coach on Thursday. That moves follows the announcement on Wednesday that Tim Leonard has stepped down for personal reasons. He was into his third season with the Raiders. Leonard, who had a long and successful run as head coach of the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, joined the Raiders in March 2012. He now has rejoined the Mintos' coaching staff. . . .

The Saskatoon Blades dealt Russian F Nikita Scherbak, their leading scorer from last season, to the Everett Silvertips for G Nik Amundrud, 17, and two conditional bantam draft picks -- a first-rounder in 2015 and a second-rounder in 2016. Scherbak is in camp with the Montreal Canadiens, who selected him with the ?? pick of the NHL's 2014 draft. If Scherbak doesn't end up in Everett, the Silvertips keep both draft picks. . . . Had Scherbak been returned to the Blades, it would have left them with three imports. They added Russian F Nikita Soshnin, 17, and Swedish D Amil Krupic, 19, in the 2014 CHL import draft. CHL rules allow each team to keep two import players, but a team is allowed to draft a third if one of their imports is a first-round NHL selection. However, those same rules don't allow the trading of freshmen imports, so in order to keep Scherbak, the Blades would have had to release Soshnin or Krupic. . . . The Silvertips may find themselves in the same kind of jam, as they also have D Marco Mueller, who is in camp with the San Jose Sharks. He was the 18th overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft. Right now, Russian F Ivan Nikolishin, an 18-year-old sophomore, is the only import in Everett. . . . Daniel Nugent-Bowman of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has more right here. . . . Should Scherbak end up in Everett, it would shed a whole different light on the Western Conference. The Silvertips have been wondering from where the goals will come; thus, they made the move on Scherbak. There's more right here from Nick Patterson of the Everett Herald.

If you missed it, Elliotte Friedman's latest blog posting, 30 Thoughts, is right here. The top is especially interesting because it deals with the fact that NHL teams are starting to wonder if players are spending too much off-season time working out.
---




The Kootenay Ice will be without D Rinat Valiev for up to four weeks. He was in camp with the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs when he suffered an undisclosed injury and underwent surgery. Apparently, the injury isn't considered to be overly serious. . . . Three WHL teams have each been fined $500 for becoming involved in multiple-fight situations. The Seattle Thunderbirds and the Winterhawks went at it on Sept. 19 in Portland. The host Tri-City Americans drew a fine, while the Prince George Cougars didn't, for an incident in Kennewick Wash., on Sunday. . . . F Tyler Wong of the Lethbridge Hurricanes was hit with a three-game suspension for incurring a headshot major and game misconduct on Saturday in Medicine Hat. . . .
The Saskatoon Blades will be without F Ryan Graham, 18, after he was found to have mononucleosis while in camp with the NHL's Minnesota Wild. He won't play until sometime in October. . . . Matthew Liebenberg of the Prairie Post has an in-depth look right here at the financial picture presented by the Swift Current Broncos during the franchise's annual general meeting.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Christian Klein (@christian9klein) tweeted this photo on Wednesday night,
with this note: "Classy move by the folks at #Holstens where the famous
final scene of #TheSopranos was filmed. Reserved tonight
for #TonySoprano and Co. A true #NJ treasure. #HBO."
THE MacBETH REPORT:
D Tomas Fojtik (Portland, 2003-04) signed a one-year contract with the Slough Jets (England, Premier). He had six goals and 20 assists in 46 games with the Basingstoke Bison, Telford Tigers, and Swindon Wildcats (all England, Premier) this season.
———
Regrets? I’ve had a few.
One of them is that during my career as a sports journalist, Lorne Molleken and I were never in the same city at the same time, at least not for any length of time.
We have known each other since the mid-1970s, but I never had the opportunity to cover any of his teams on a daily basis.
Molleken, who stepped aside as head coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades on Wednesday, spent 17 winters as a
LORNE MOLLEKEN
(Steve Hiscock photo)
WHL head coach. He also worked as head coach of the Regina Pats and Moose Jaw Warriors.
However, Molleken’s history with the WHL goes back a whole lot farther than that.
A goaltender, the Regina native played with the Swift Current Broncos in 1972-73 and 1973-74, making the move to Lethbridge with the franchise for the start of the 1974-75 season. However, he found himself in Winnipeg with the Clubs – you can bet Molleken learned a lot about dysfunctional families there – during that season and also played there in 1975-76 before going on to a professional career that took him to such minor league outposts as Philadelphia, Saginaw, Springfield, Binghamton, Indianapolis and Toledo.
The roadmap of his coaching career is that of a man who loves the game. Moose Jaw. Saskatoon. Cape Breton. Hamilton, Chicago. Regina. San Jose. Pittsburgh. Saskatoon.
We are a society that loves to catalogue people, to put them in slots and leave them there. So that means Molleken, who turned 57 on June 11, is an “old school” coach. If you watched any of the TV series On The Edge that chronicled the Blades; 2012-13 season, you witnessed that first hand.
But you also saw the tears when circumstances called on him to inform players they had been traded away, so wouldn’t be part of the host team for the Memorial Cup.
Yes, Molleken is an emotional man.
But the thing I enjoy the most about Molleken is that, unlike so many people in hockey today, he understands the game within the game. He understands the role of the media, that we are a necessary evil so he may as well deal with us. He understands that it isn’t our job to sell tickets for him and his organization. But, at the same time, he knows that if he cultivates relationships in the correct fashion that’s exactly what happens.
Which is why, whenever I would approach him, he had that glint in his eye and a story to tell.
So here’s a story about Molleken.
In that 1974-75 season, he played for the legendary Muzz MacPherson with the Clubs, who played out of the old Winnipeg Arena.
One morning, a bleary-eyed Molleken was on the ice for practice but wasn’t moving too many muscles. He stood in one net looking like a Shooter Tutor before its time.
“Hey, Mooner,” yelled MacPherson, who was stationed at centre ice. “Are you going to at least try to stop some pucks?”
Molleken replied: “Muzz, you see that thing up above you?”
MacPherson, in telling the story in his gravely voice, would say: “Like a fool, I looked up. And there was the clock.”
Molleken, noticing that MacPherson had looked up, offered: “When it starts, I start.”
———
If it wasn’t official, it is now. Hockey Canada has jumped the shark with the world junior hockey championship.
Our country’s hockey pooh-bahs, the same ones who came up with the idea of banning European goaltenders from the major junior game, will announce today that Toronto and Montreal will share the 2015 and 2017 world junior tournaments.
Bob McKenzie of TSN tweeted yesterday that “MTL will host preliminary round and TOR the medal round in 2015. Then it reverses in 2017 with MTL getting medal round and TOR preliminary.”
Never mind that Toronto and Montreal have been graveyards for major junior hockey. That doesn’t matter. Hockey Canada has morphed into a gigantic business and the world junior championship is its cash cow.
You will recall that Calgary and Edmonton shared the 2012 tournament and the profit was $22 million. The bar, then, has been raised so high that junior hockey cities without NHL arenas have zero chance of seeing this tournament again.
As Neate Sager of Yahoo! Sports wrote:
“Who knows how high the revenue target will be for the two tournaments that will be held in the Bell Centre and Air Canada Centre, which are both newer buildings with a greater combined seating capacity than the NHL venues in Calgary and Edmonton. It's just the way it is; it doesn't matter that Montreal and Toronto are so gung-ho about junior hockey during the other 50 weeks of the year that a combined four CHL teams have pulled up stakes from those markets in the past decade — the Brampton Battalion (North Bay), Montreal Juniors (suburban Blainville-Boisbriand), Mississauga IceDogs (St. Catharines) and Montreal Rocket (Charlottetown, P.E.I.).”
Should the 2015 and 2017 tournaments raise the profit bar even higher, perhaps to $30 million, what happens? Do Toronto and Montreal become the permanent host cities whenever the tournament is played in Canada?
Because these days it’s all about the money.
We live in a sporting world with its priorities so far out of whack that it has become painful. Some junior hockey teams in our country, their expenses far exceeding revenues, are going to charge players a few thousand dollars to play. The 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, are going to cost someone US$51 billion.
One of these days, the bubble is going to burst and when that day comes it is going to be noisy.
But when it happens perhaps places like Red Deer will have the opportunity to play host to things like the world junior tournament again.
———
James Gandolfini died on Wednesday while vacationing in Italy.
Here’s Alan Sepinwall of hitfix.com writing about Gandolfini as Tony Soprano: “His work on the show made possible Vic Mackey, Al Swearengen, Walter White, Don Draper and every complicated, riveting anti-hero (or worse) who followed him. ‘The Sopranos’ was an enormous hit, and told the business that the old rules need no longer apply.”
That complete piece, and it’s a great read, is right here.
———
G Alex Wakaluk, the son of Calgary Hitmen goaltending coach Darcy Wakaluk, has signed to play for the U of Massachusetts Minutemen. Alex, who turns 20 on Aug. 20, played the last two seasons with the SJHL’s Melville Millionaires. This season, he was named the SJHL’s most valuable player and was a finalist for the junior A goaltender-of-the-year award. He was selected by the Lethbridge Hurricanes in the ninth round of the 2008 WHL bantam draft.
———
Two former WHLers — F Andrew Rieder and D Tyler Hart — have committed to Dalhouse University in Halifax and will play for the Tigers. . . . Rieder (Regina, 2009-12) has his WHL career derailed by shoulder problems. A Regina native, he then played five games this season with the OHL’s Peterborough Petes but his comeback was halted by more shoulder problems. . . . Hart (Vancouver, Prince Albert, 2010-12) is from Spruce Grove, Alta. He played this season for the AJHL’s Drayton Valley Thunder.
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Lorne Molleken, the second-winningest head coach in WHL history, has stepped aside. The Saskatoon Blades announced Wednesday that Molleken will remain as the general manager and alternate governor, with associate coach David Struch taking over as head coach. . . . Curtis Leschyshyn and Jerome Engele will stay on as assistant coaches, and Tim Cheveldave remains as the goaltending coach. . . . "Our organization has full confidence in what David can do with this team going forward,” Molleken said in a news release. “He has been a part of this coaching staff for the past seven years. He's done the necessary work to become a head coach in this league. He's passionate about coaching, the city of Saskatoon and the Blades. We feel that he'll be a great fit as we enter a new and exciting era as an organization.” . . . Struck is a former Blades player (1988-92). . . . Molleken has been a WHL coach for 17 seasons, 13 of them with the Blades. With 603 career victories, he is second only to Ken Hodge (742) on the WHL’s all-time list.

The Prince Albert Raiders have agreed to contract extensions with associate coach Dave Manson and assistant coach Tim Leonard. . . . Manson, a former Raiders defenceman, is in his second stint as an assistant coach, having rejoined the team as an assistant coach for the 2010-11 season. He was named associate coach after that season. . . . Leonard, who spent 10 seasons on the coaching staff of the midget AAA Prince Albert Mintos, is preparing for his second season with the Raiders. . . . Manson and Leonard now are signed through 2014-15, along with the rest of the club’s hockey operations staff. . . . Dave Leaderhouse of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.

John Goodwin, a former OHL scoring champion, has signed on as an assistant coach with the North Bay Battalion. Goodwin, 51, will work with fellow assistant Ryan Oulahen alongside GM/head coach Stan Butler. . . . Goodwin replaces Jason Ward, who chose not to make the move from Brampton to North Bay. . . . Goodwin has previous OHL coaching experience, with the Oshawa Generals. He was the head coach there for three seasons and also spent two seasons there as an assistant under Butler. . . . Goodwin won the OHL scoring title in 1980-81.
———






From Portland freelancer Scott Sepich (@SSepich): “2015 and 2017 WJCs to be in Montreal and Toronto. I've heard European teams won't even be allowed to USE goalies.”
———
From Mitch Callahan (@emcy1five): “Sorry to the city of Grand Rapids for dropping the ‘F’ bomb on stage with the microphone at city park. Just a little excited”

There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

THE MacBETH REPORT:
Czech-ELH
F Stanislav Balan (Portland, 2005-06) has been assigned on loan by Zlin (Czech Republic, Extraliga) to Karlovy Vary (Czech Republic, Extraliga) for at least the start of next season. Balan had 16 goals and 31 assists in 43 games for Poprad (Slovakia, Extraliga) this season. . . .



SM-liiga
F Sami Sandell (Brandon, 2004-06) signed a one-year plus option contract with Ilves Tampere (Finland, SM-Liiga). He had three goals and five assists in 40 games with Luleå (Sweden, Elitserien) this season. . . .



Czech-ELH
D Tomas Slovak (Kelowna, 2001-03) signed a one-year contract extension with Plzen (Czech Republic, Extraliga). He had four goals and seven assists in 27 games with Plzen this season.
———



1. Well, if you didn’t have a dog in either hunt that was a wasted evening of TV viewing. The Boston Bruins blew out the host Pittsburgh Penguins and after two games hold a 9-1 edge in goals, while the Miami Heat picked apart the visiting Indiana Pacers in Game 7 of an NBA division final. . . . An evening that began with much promise, when pfffft in a hurry.
2. Beth Bragg of the Anchorage Daily News reports that the U of Alaska-Anchorage is down to six finalists as it searches for a new head coach for its hockey team. Her story is right here, and it includes all six names, which is kind of interesting. . . . Can’t you just see a WHL team allowing its fans to follow along as it searches for a head coach!
3. With the Prince Albert Raiders having hired Cory Clouston as head coach, there now are two WHL teams — the Everett Silvertips and Lethbridge Hurricanes — who still have vacancies in that position.
4. The Hurricanes are the only team in the 22-team league without a head coach and a logo.
5. A few years ago, I got an email from a hockey fan named Bill Motiuk. He had put a lot of thought into hockey’s loser point — in many leagues, including the WHL, a team losing a game in overtime or a shootout receives one point. In brief, Motiuk proposed right here that a winner in regulation time be given three points, with two points going to an OT winner and one to a shootout winner. The loser wouldn’t get anything.
The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. Of course, the powers-that-be have yet to see the light.
Recently, I received another email from Motiuk, this time with “something for hockey fans to throw around in the down time between playoff series.”
And rather than have me explain it, here he is . . .
“How would the game change if a team getting a power play with less than two minutes left in a period had the option of taking the penalty at the time of the call or at the start of the next period?
“Why the option?
“As it stands now, the penalty and subsequent power play are not really for two minutes. For example, it could be a 45-second power play in one period and a one-minute 15-second power play in the next period.
“The amount of time allotted to the power play in each period currently depends on or at what time after the 18 minute-mark the penalty was called. How often is a goal scored at the end of a period on a penalty called at 19:30 of the period? That 30 seconds is probably the easiest bit of time to kill.
“Even if you have the momentum and are pressing on the power play, the clock puts a stop to that even though you have 90 of PP time left. And when the next period begins the faceoff is at centre ice where if you lose the draw another few seconds are lost.
“As it stands now the team taking a penalty with fewer than two minutes to play in a period faces less of a challenge than it would if that same penalty were called with two or more minutes remaining in the period.
“Adopting my suggestion would most likely change a dynamic in coaching. The ability of the coach would become more evident as to his effect on the outcome of a game. Does the coach accept the time of the penalty when called to continue his team’s momentum (if his team has it) or does he go to the dressing room and draw up a plan to exploit any weaknesses he may have observed? As well, when a new period begins, his players will be rested and the ice will be fresh.
“Of course, the other team also will be rested. So does he give the opposing team a chance to re-group?
“The score at the end of the period would be another variable. Heading toward overtime near the end of the third period would also add another dynamic. Does he try to win in regulation time and deny the other team a single point or does he gamble and carry the full two-minute penalty into overtime, in a 4-on-3 situation, which has a high percentage likelihood of a power play goal and the two points?
“If he allows the penalty time to be split over the period and into overtime and the power play comes up dry, the OT becomes a toss-up as to who will win. It could all come down to who can out-coach whom?
“I’m sure a lot of people could come up many more pros and cons for this idea, but I just wanted to throw it out there to see if it raises any thoughts.”
6. I will throw out another suggestion, one that I heard Kamloops Blazers head coach Dave Hunchak mention during one of his radio appearances at the recent Memorial Cup.
If hockey really wants to increase scoring, Hunchak suggested, the nets should be enlarged, but only upwards. If they were six inches higher, putting cross-bars 54 inches off the ice, he continued, goaltenders would have to spend a lot more time standing up.
Make the goaltenders stand up more and they are able to play less butterfly, meaning the bottom of the net would be open for more scoring.
I am quick to admit that I am a traditionalist, but hockey needs more goals. It’s obvious that the equipment worn by goaltenders isn’t going to be downsized a whole lot, if at all.
So, hey, why not raise the cross-bar by six inches?
———
THE COACHING GAME:
Cory Clouston is back in the game, this time as head coach of the Prince Albert Raiders. The WHL team announced Monday that it had signed Clouston to a two-year deal, with the team holding an option on a third season. . . . Clouston, a two-time WHL coach of the year while with the Kootenay Ice, is the 13th head coach in Raiders’ history. . . . He left the Ice after 2007-08 and spent a bit more than one season as head coach of the AHL’s Binghamton Senators, moving up as head coach of the NHL’s Ottawa Senators with 34 games left in 2008-09. Clouston spent two more seasons with Ottawa before being dropped, and then was head coach of the Brandon Wheat Kings for one season, going 39-28-5 in 2011-12. He was fired shortly after the season ended. . . . With the Raiders, Clouston replaces Steve Young. The Raiders announced on April 29 that they wouldn’t pick up the option on Young’s contract. . . . Associate coach Dave Manson and assistant coach Tim Leonard will work alongside Clouston. . . . Perry Bergson of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has more right here.

ECHL
The ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets are expected to name a new head coach today. They are replacing veteran coach Al Sims, who retired after the season. . . . The new coach may well be Gary Graham, a Fort Wayne native who was an assistant under Sims. 


There has never been a subscription fee for this blog, but if you enjoy stopping by here, why not consider donating to the cause? Just click HERE. . . and thank you very much.
PhotobucketPhotobucketPhotobucket

  © Design byThirteen Letter

Back to TOP