Article content continued Nonetheless, for the first time in three decades, since his playing days in junior hockey, September has arrived without Bouchard preparing, or participating in, training camp. Perhaps that has created a void, but Bouchard always has been able to adapt and adjust to various situations. This one’s no different. “There’s not much
American Hockey League
J.D. Forrest had done such a tremendous job in his four seasons as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton assistant coach that other teams were starting to take notice. So it made perfect sense for the Penguins to promote him to head coach after Mike Vellucci was named an assistant coach with Pittsburgh. The Penguins are confident that Forrest’s familiarity
The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Adam Cracknell to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2020-21 season. Entering his 15th pro season, Cracknell has played 530 regular-season games in the AHL with Omaha, Quad City, Peoria, Chicago, Springfield, Hartford, Laval, Toronto and San Diego, totaling 144 goals and 165 assists for 309 points. He established
The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins announced today that J.D. Forrest has been named head coach and Jason Karmanos will serve as general manager of the club. Forrest, 39, takes over as head coach after four seasons as an assistant with the Penguins. He previously spent one season coaching in Austria and was an assistant for the U.S.
The Chicago Wolves and Charlotte Checkers both announced new National Hockey League affiliation agreements on Thursday. The Wolves have entered into a three-year partnership with the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, while the Checkers have reached a multi-year agreement to serve as the top development club for the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Both affiliations begin with the upcoming
Bob Goodman played youth hockey at Hersheypark Arena and attended countless Hershey Bears games growing up. Goodman never realized his boyhood dream to be an NHL player, but in Hershey, he forged a path where hockey became his life’s work anyway. “I’ve been officiating in the AHL since 1992 – for nearly 30 years,” Goodman,
The Laval Rocket have re-signed forward Kevin Lynch to an American Hockey League contract for the 2020-21 season. After missing the entire 2018-19 season due to injury, Lynch appeared in 54 games for the Rocket in 2019-20, notching seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points. In 208 regular-season AHL contests over parts of five
Bruce Cassidy of the Boston Bruins has been voted the 2019-20 recipient of the Jack Adams Award as “the NHL coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team’s success.” Cassidy, a former head coach with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins and Providence Bruins, becomes the seventh person ever to win both the Jack
EDMONTON — Luke Schenn has never been this close to getting his hands on the Stanley Cup. Across 12 NHL seasons, with stints in Toronto, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Arizona, Anaheim, Vancouver and now Tampa Bay, the veteran defenceman had only appeared in 12 career playoff games before this summer. However, it is the games Schenn
SUNRISE, Fla. — Bill Zito believes there’s only one way to do things in life. No matter what you’re doing, you must always give it everything you’ve got. Introduced as the new general manager of the Florida Panthers on Wednesday afternoon at BB&T Center, Zito will have no shortage of work to do in the
This isn’t the first time Joel Kiviranta has surprised people. The scrappy forward was one of the depth invitees to training camp for the Finnish National Team’s World Championship entry in the spring of 2019, and to be honest, not many had him making the final roster. “When we had training camp, he came to
Playing in his first game of the series and just the 14th of his NHL career, Joel Kiviranta scored three times — including the winner at 7:24 of overtime — to give the Dallas Stars a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of their Stanley Cup Playoff series on Friday afternoon. Kiviranta
The Montreal Canadiens have agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract with forward Lukas Vejdemo. Vejdemo, 24, appeared in 47 games with the AHL’s Laval Rocket in 2019-20, recording nine goals and 10 assists for 19 points. He also made his NHL debut with the Canadiens, tallying one goal in seven contests. A third-round
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. – When the Pittsburgh Penguins announced their two new assistant coaches on Wednesday morning, people were quick to point out the common thread among the Steel City staff. With Todd Reirden and Mike Vellucci joining Mike Sullivan behind Pittsburgh’s bench, all three members of the Penguins coaching staff were former head coaches for
Mike Vellucci has won championships at both the OHL and AHL level. He led the Plymouth Whalers to a league title in 2007, and guided the Charlotte Checkers to the Calder Cup in 2019 – earning the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award for AHL Coach of the Year. And when Vellucci joined the Penguins organization
The Florida Panthers announced today that Bill Zito has been named general manager of the club. Zito will oversee the club’s hockey operations including all matters relating to player personnel, scouting department and minor league operations. Zito joins the Panthers after seven years with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization, joining them as assistant general manager
The Pittsburgh Penguins have named Mike Vellucci as an assistant coach, joining head coach Mike Sullivan‘s staff. Vellucci, 54, spent the 2019-20 season as head coach and general manager of the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, guiding them to a record of 29-26-3-5. Eight of Vellucci’s players saw action with Pittsburgh during the year. Vellucci won the
The Buffalo Sabres today announced the team has named Matt Ellis director of player development. Ellis played 14 seasons professionally, including eight in the Sabres organization from 2008 to 2016. He served as team captain of the Sabres’ AHL affiliates in Rochester and Portland, as well as for the Grand Rapids Griffins. Ellis appeared in