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| Photo: John Sullivan |
The year was 1986. David Lee Roth had left Van Halen, latched onto another brilliant guitarist, and released his first full length solo album. Eat'em and Smile is full of quality songs featuring Dave at his lunatic best, Steve Vai's ridiculous skills and Billy Sheehan's crazy bass. To me it's one of the most underrated CD's from the era.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did a lot of damage to the Edmonton Oil Kings with his hands, and vision. But it was the Red Deer Rebels leg/knee that did the Kings in for good Thursday night in Edmonton.
Saturday night's meeting between Medicine Hat and Edmonton may have been the best game I've seen all year. On the surface, a Tigers victory for many might have been a foregone conclusion - Medicine Hat has owned the Oil Kings since the local club first returned to the league four Septembers ago. However, the 6-5 shootout had everything you could have hoped to see in a game and will go down as one of the most entertaining nights at Rexall Place in 2010-11.
The Edmonton Oil Kings haven't had a lot of success against the Medicine Hat Tigers since the OK Kids rejoined the WHL and that continued with a weekend sweep courtesy of the Tigers and Oilers 2010 2nd round pick (31st) Tyler Pitlick.
It sure was great to get back to the rink over the weekend. Not only did the Edmonton Oil Kings tournament provide onlookers with an opportunity to watch several high profile prospects, new Oiler properties and get a feel for how the local WHL is shaping up, but it also let me get back in face-to-face contact with the WHL community.
The off season coaching changes just keep on coming. Last week TPS first told you about Willy Desjardins landing a gig with the Dallas Stars, which didn't surprise us as Guy and I talked about it last Tuesday. Desjardins was very close to getting the head coaching job with San Antonio of the AHL last year.
Also from around the dub, TPS has been told that Jeff Truitt will be joining the San Antonino Rampage of the AHL as an assistant coach. Ray Edwards and Mike Pelino are currently listed as interim head coach and assistant coach on the Coyotes farm team web site.
Late on Friday we mentioned that Medicine Hat Tigers GM/Coach Willie Desjardins appears headed for the NHL's Dallas Stars. Tonight, two other credible reports have come our way as well as a third being discussed that also concerns Medicine Hat.
The off-season coaching carousel is always worth paying attention to as bench bosses move from one team to another, from one league to the next. We are seeing more coaches with NHL backgrounds ending up in the CHL and the natural progression of CHL coaches to the AHL and on to the NHL, sometimes without that stop in between.
Every year the Oilers hold a summer orientation camp for their prospects. It's not the most fan friendly event, in fact unless they change things drastically this year most of you who attend will be bored beyond belief. The purpose of the week is to help young players get accustomed to the organization, receive their summer training programs and basically get to know each other.
There are always a handful of coaching changes during the NHL off-season and this year will be no different. It's almost like a rite of summer and if the last couple years can be used as any prediction tool, there might be some new faces behind NHL benches at the start of 2009-10.
The London Knights have been a juggernaut in the OHL for the past decade and Hunter has had a winning record every year since his first in 2001-02. In fact, take a look at Dale Hunter's numbers as a coach and you'll wonder how someone hasn't talked him out of the OHL already.
He's already got experience on the bench at the NHL and AHL levels including a stretch as the Oilers farm coach. Molleken has done a remarkable job in Saskatoon with a team many pre-season pundits considered to be a non-playoff squad. He hasn't always had a heck of a lot to work with in 'Toontown' but he coached Mike Green (WSH) in his final WHL year, has helped Braden Holtby become one of the best goalies in the WHL and looks to be doing wonders for Stefan Elliot as well. Not to mention that Molleken might be the WHL Coach of the Year, he'd be a worthy candidate on anyone's list.
He's won a pair of league titles, taken the Tigers to two Memorial Cups, was on the bench with Canada at the 2009 World Juniors and still might not get enough recognition for his development abilities. Cam Barker, Joffrey Lupul, Clarke McCarthur, Darren Helm, Matt Keetley, Kris Russell and now Tyler Ennis - it's an extensive list of players that Desjardins has helped earn pro contracts.
They're the #1 ranked team in the CHL for a reason. Kelly Kisio has built a seemingly unstoppable team that has swept through the Edmonton Oil Kings and the Lethbridge Hurricanes in 8 straight games. When Kisio moved from behind the bench to concentrate on the GM job many thought the Hitmen would enter a bit of a rebuild.
The former Hartford Whalers star forward is one of a number of former players who have stepped behind the bench. It also seems to be part of the Dineen genetic code as Kevin's brothers Gord and Gary are also in the trade, all of them following in the footsteps of their father Bill Dineen.
Kevin Dineen's bio page at the Pirate's website is very informative and helped propel the former sniper from an honorable mention on my list to one of headliners. Not only was he a terrific player but he's enjoying a lot of success now as a coach, traits that should get him respect from all sides of the career coach/player coach debate.
This season the Portland Pirates are affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres (Nate Gerbe, Tim Kennedy) after years under the umbrella of the Anaheim Ducks (Bobby Ryan, Andrew Ebbett, Brendan Mikkelson). Even with a completely new line up sitting at his feet, Dineen still has Portland poised for the postseason - and that should be considered a huge success. It's also interesting that with the change over from Anaheim to Buffalo, the Sabres chose to keep Dineen on with the team; that's a sign right there that they recognized his abilities as a coach.
Scott Arniel - Manitoba Moose (AHL)
This is a name that has been brought up a few times this year including earlier today by Jonathan Willis at Oilers Nation. Arniel should be near the top of the shortlist for a lot of teams, including Edmonton, because of his track record behind the bench since ending his lengthy playing career. He's this year's AHL Coach of the Year as he's guided the Moose to the top of the AHL's North Division.
Arniel played many years in the NHL, mostly witht he Buffalo Sabres and the Winnipeg Jets. He's now got 8 years of coaching experience, the last three as a head coach, and appears proven in terms of getting the most out of his team. The Vancouver Canucks have brought in a few players who Arniel can take a lot of credit for getting NHL ready including Jannik Hansen, Jason Jaffrey, Mason Raymond and Rick Rypien.
A couple other AHL coaches who might be considered 'on the rise' include Lane Lambert of the Milwaukee Admirals and the Hartford Wolf Pack's Ken Gernander. Both are former players who have been head coaches for only a few years but both have thier clubs sitting on top of their respective AHL Divisions. Hamilton Bulldogs coach Don Lever should be in line for a promotion after spending the last four years in the minors with a Calder Cup to show for it.
Geoff Ward - Boston Bruins (NHL)
Here's a coach I think might be of interest to other NHL teams because he's got head coach experience and he's currently part of a Stanley Cup contending staff in Boston.
Claude Julien had him on his AHL staff in Hamilton and requested Geoff Ward from the Oilers once he moved to Boston so you know he's respected. Ward didn't have much success with the Toronto and Edmonton Road Runners but in the team's last year of split affiliation with Montreal in Hamilton, he coached the club to the Calder Cup finals. Jarret Stoll, Tomas Plekanec, Michael Ryder, Kyle Brodziak and Brad Winchester were early pro pupils under Ward's care.
As part of Boston's coaching staff, Ward has helped Claude Julien turn the Bruins around from also-rans to a team that leads the NHL Eastern Conference standings.
Claude Noel - Columbus Blue Jackets (NHL)
Claude Noel was a longtime minor league coach before Scott Howson and Ken Hitchchock stole him from the Milwaukee Admirals a couple seasons ago. As head coach in Milwaukee, Noel had been to the finals in two of his four seasons winning one AHL title in the process and never having a winning percentage below .600. Like the three pro coaches listed above, Noel has also won a Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as AHL Coach of the Year.
In Columbus, Noel is working alongside one of the best coaches in the game and it would be hard to believe that being around Ken Hitchcock on a daily basis could do anything but help an already high quality coach become even better.
NHL Shoppers
The Ottawa Senators saw enough from little known Cory Clouston to have recently removed the 'interim' tag from his job title proving that not all teams look to recycle unemployed NHL coaches.
Who will the Montreal Canadiens take on next year to replace Guy Carbonneau? Is that where Don Lever ends up or is Kirk Muller being groomed for that role already?
Is Dave Tippet's job secure in Dallas? What about Barry Trotz in Nashville, or Randy Carlyle in Anaheim? It seems like a fore gone conclusion for Craig MacTavish and the Edmonton Oilers but what about the Colorado Avalanche? Is Rick Tocchet safe in Tampa Bay?
Several coaching jobs could be available this summer and if so, there also looks like there is no shortage of quality coaches who could step up to claim one of them.
(Photos Courtesy: TSN, The Hockey News, The Manitoba Moose, The Medicine Hat Tigers, The American Hockey League, The Edmonton Road Runners, The New Jersey Devils)
