The St. Louis Blues have named Martin Brodeur as Assistant General Manager. Doug Armstrong, General Manager, announced on Wednesday, May 20 that they agreed on a three-year contract with Brodeur.
After 21 seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Brodeur joined the Blues as a free agent on December 2, 2014. In St. Louis, he accumulated a 3-3-0 record, which included his final NHL win, a 3-0 shutout against Colorado on Dec. 29.
He announced his retirement on January 29, 2015 and moved into a management position with the Blues as a Senior Advisor to the General Manager.
Brodeur spoke with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch prior to accepting the new position. “I really enjoyed it, but we had a conversation that I’d like to do more,” Brodeur said. “I want to learn as much as possible. I think it was a great opportunity for me to be around the team advising. But now after doing that for six months, I’d like to do a little more.”
The future Hall of Fame goaltender finished his career as the league’s leader in wins (691), shutouts (125) and games played (1,266). He raised the Stanley Cup three times and compiled a 691-397-176 overall record and notched a 2.24 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.
Brodeur won all three of his Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, 2000 and 2003.
In post-season, Brodeur ranks first in starts (204) and shutouts (24) and second in wins (113).
Brodeur appeared in 10 All-Star Games and has a long list of awards including winning the Vezina Trophy four times: 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008.
On top of Marty’s NHL success, he is also a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist with Team Canada, which he won in 2002 and 2010.
His success is also not limited to goaltending. Brodeur has scored three goals in his NHL career– the only goalie to do so.
Soon after Brodeur’s retirement, Lou Lamoriello, ex-General Manager of the NJ Devils, said he expects Marty to return to New Jersey eventually. Recently, though, the Devils signed Ray Shero to replace Lamoriello after a disappointing season. Now, because of the management change, Brodeur’s fate in New Jersey is unclear.
Brodeur told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “I haven’t heard anything from the Devils,” Brodeur said. “So for me, I’m concentrating on what I’m doing here. It’s a great opportunity for me to step in right now because of all the activities management has to encounter in the next month or so with the combine, with the draft, with free agency. So there’s a lot of things I could learn, so that’s why I’d like to do something quicker than later.
Photo courtesy of isportsweb.com
There haven’t been many things for Los Angeles Kings’ fans to celebrate during this post-season unless you include cheering when the Anaheim Ducks lose. With the team out of the play-offs, most fans have been spending time begrudgingly watching the remaining four NHL teams duke it out in the conference finals or trying to catch glimpses of Kings players in the recent International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships (A quick aside on the IIHF: forward Trevor Lewis helped the USA team win the Bronze while forward Tyler Toffoli, defenseman Jake Muzzin and goaltender Martin Jones assisted Canada in capturing the Gold with their contributions. Marion Gaborik played for Slovakia and Anze Kopitar assisted Team Slovenia, though neither made it to the medal rounds).
But in a year without contention for the Cup, the Kings and their fans have at least one reason to celebrate: Wednesday evening, May 20th, the Kings won the Sports Business Journal’s Sports Team of the Year Award. During the ceremony, held in New York, Luc Robitaille, President of Business Operations for the Kings, accepted the award which is given to teams that exhibit “excellence, growth, creativity, innovation, sound planning, implementation and outcomes” during the time period of March 1, 2014 to February 28, 2015. The Sports Business Journal awards are judged by a panel that includes editors, writers and researchers from SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily. Other organizations named finalists for the award were the Charlotte Hornets, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Cardinals, Team Penske and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Sports Business Journal awards were launched in 2008 to “celebrate and recognize the leaders, visionaries and day-to-day practitioners who personify excellence in the business of sports”. In addition to their Sports Team of the Year win, the Kings also had two related nominations at the annual awards: Staples Center was nominated in the category of “Sports Facility of the Year” (Levi’s Stadium was the eventual winner) and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), owners of both the Kings and Galaxy, was nominated for the “Best in Property Consulting, Sales and Client Services” award (Learfield Sports was named the winner).
So while it’s not quite the same as watching their beloved team in the playoffs or seeing them hoist the Cup, the latest honor bestowed upon the Kings may help fans feel just a bit better as they wait anxiously for October and the new NHL season.
(Photo: Blackhawks Facebook)
Ending after 1:00 a.m. CT Tuesday, it was the longest game in Blackhawks franchise history. It was the longest game played at the Honda Center. And, while the Anaheim Ducks were focused on getting into the Blackhawks’ heads, the Hawks were using theirs (figuratively and literally).
After more than five periods and five hours of hockey, Blackhawks forward Marcus Kruger would mercifully end a game where he and his fellow teammates took 71 hits, his team’s already-depleted defense played 116 minutes, killed five penalties and blocked 29 shots, his goaltender Corey Crawford made 60 saves, and a would-be wacky winner by Andrew Shaw was waved off. At 8:47 of double-overtime, with agitator Ryan Kesler and Francois Beauchemin defending the net as well as goalie Frederik Andersen, Shaw launched himself off the ice at a airborne wobbling puck and knocked it soccer header style into the net.
The team celebrated. The announcers commended the “heads-up” play. Helmets would become the new shinpads. And then the officials called Toronto, who supplied them with the following information, breaking hearts of sleepy Hawks fans and restoring hope for the Ducks: According to Rule 78.5 (i) “Apparent goals shall be disallowed when the puck has been directed, batted or thrown into the net by an attacking player other than with a stick.”
“But the rule says you can’t do that,” Shaw said after the game. “If anyone can pull that off I think they should call it a goal. Just how cool it is.”
The Blackhawks would have to recover. They’d have to put their minds and bodies back into the game, and that they did.
“It feels like it’s happened a few times to us. We’ve been able to bounce back right after that,” Kruger said. “I mean, at least me, I thought the game was over there. Then they called it back.
“We had to regroup. I think we did a great job staying with it–ended up with the win later.”
With just under four minutes left in triple overtime, Kruger would rebound in his own knock-down after a blueline shot by Brent Seabrook set up by Johnny Oduya.
It very well could’ve been fate. Early in the game, Kruger was the target of Clayton Stoner‘s aggression:
Likewise, the Ducks put targets on the backs of Chicago’s defensemen. In fact, Ryan Kesler announced before their meetings his strategy to “invest in them physically.”
So, when veteran defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who has been playing around five minutes a game and returned to the ice in April after recovering from blood clots, hit the ice, he was hammered.
Hits favored Anaheim 71 to 44.
But Chicago played through the hits, as they usually do. They kept ticking.
The first period was pretty heavily theirs.
It started while Patrick Maroon served a boarding penalty on defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson.
At just 2:14 into the period, on the power play, Jonathan Toews passed back to Duncan Keith, who fired from the blue line for a deflection by Shaw.
Then, about four minutes later, while Stoner served that crosscheck penalty (above) on Kruger, Marian Hossa would give the Hawks a two-goal lead on a power play.
Brad Richards sent the puck toward the net from the right circle where Bryan Bickell would deflect to Hossa for another gritty goal at the net.
Then Andrew Cogliano would cut the lead in half just under halfway through the period.
Nate Thompson rushed into the zone then dished to Cam Fowler, who fed Cogliano to slide the puck past an already-invested Crawford.
The Hawks wouldn’t regain momentum in intermission. For the next 20, the Ducks displayed a significant advantage–outshooting the Hawks 19-7.
Just 2:30 into the second Corey Perry would knot the score and neither team would recover for almost another game’s worth of hockey.
The Ducks played this goal like they were on a power play, with Sami Vatanen passing from the far right of the circle for Ryan Getzlaf to put on net for Perry’s tip-in.
The rest of the game featured failed power plays on both sides. The Blackhawks had 37 shots while the Ducks had 36.
Andersen and Crawford did a lot of this.
Crawford even recorded a hit.
But, ultimately, exhausted yet exhilarated, the Blackhawks would be leaving the Honda Center with one win.
“That was obviously the biggest win of the playoffs so far for us,” Crawford said. “To go back 1-1 at home is really big for this team. We’ve got to work even harder next game.”
Game One
This long, hard-fought victory came on the tails of a 4-1, humbling loss.
Despite outshooting the Ducks 33-27, Chicago was overpowered physically with hits 44-34 and shot-blocks 22-9. The Blackhawks were unable to capitalize on three power plays.
Hampus Lindholm (Jakob Silfverberg, Matt Beleskey) tallied the first goal 8:48 into the first.
At 4:17 into the second, Kyle Palmieri (Thompson) gave the Ducks a two-goal lead.
Richards answered for the Hawks with about 40 seconds left in the second period.
But Thompson (Cogliano, Lindholm) would extend the lead to 3-1 at 12:05 into the third period.
And, with Crawford pulled and just under two minutes remaining, Silfverberg (Simon Despres, Getzlaf) sealed the Ducks’ win with an empty-netter.
After the loss, Chicago made a lineup change to its struggling defense–switching injured Michal Rozsival‘s replacement David Rundblad (a minus-one in Game One) with Kyle Cumiskey, who was able to see more ice time in Game Two, and, by the end of the especially long game displayed progress on the ice.
Coach Joel Quenneville has been tight-lipped about Game Three back in Chicago Thursday night, but he isn’t worried about fatigue from the first two games–they had a similar situation against Nashville and were able to recover.
“I think our group starting on time, they’ll focus on the next game, the importance of each and every game, the meaning of it, the excitement of coming back here. We haven’t been back here in a while playing a huge game like today. The experience of our players that have played in many big games, coming off some tough, long overtime games, their preparation in moving on, you have to commend the leadership group–the guys that have been through it, it’s another part of the experience.”
Hawks Need Their Stars to Shine
Unlike in the previous series, the Ducks have thus far done a pretty good job keeping the usual high-flying Hawks grounded. With a weak defense, the team needs an especially strong offense.
Patrick Kane has zero points in these last two games despite every possible effort to get the puck past the goal line.
Sharp has no points. Toews has one assist. Hossa has one goal.
These guys are going to need to figure out the opponent and turn on the heat. This series is not about pretty goals. It will take pretty maneuvering of the puck, but they have to be just as capable of nasty bounces as the third and fourth-liners.
“We don’t want to look too far ahead. We’ll take it one game at a time,” Toews said. “Nobody goes into a game planning to play for six periods. You take it one shift at a time. I think considering the way we played, we know there’s a lot more in the tank. I think we’re excited to get back to home ice, to try to get them on their heels a little bit more, find the excitement, that energy we’ve had in our own building.
“I think we’re happy we are coming home one game apiece–but obviously coming into our own building, we want to take control of the series and have the puck more than we’ve had in the last few games.”
Home ice is significant to this team, as are these next two games. The energy in Chicago should hopefully amplify the Blackhawks.
Quenneville thinks so.
“Well, I think obviously we mentioned this after the last game, the enthusiasm we’re going to have in this building–the anthem here. Great place to be. The enthusiasm in the city gets more intense as we go along. I think everybody probably had a long day at work yesterday and are looking forward to today’s game. It’s a special place. I think our players know the advantage–the perk of playing in front of such a passionate fan base, the excitement. We look forward to this. I think playing here at home against a good road team here–it’s going to be a good test.”
Western Conference Final Schedule
- Game 3: 7:00 p.m. CT Thurs. May 21 in Chicago, broadcast on NBCSN, CBC, and TVA Sports
- Game 4: 7:00 p.m. CT Sat. May 23 in Chicago, broadcast on NBC, CBC, and TVA Sports
- Game 5: 8:00 p.m. CT Mon. May 25 in Anaheim, broadcast on NBCSN, CBC, and TVA SportsIF NEEDED:
- Game 6: 7:00 p.m. CT Wed. May 27 in Chicago, broadcast on NBCSN, CBC, and TVA Sports
- Game 7: 7:00 p.m. CT Sat. May 30 in Anaheim, broadcast on NBCSN, CBC, and TVA Sports
(As always, click the bold links for video clips or other information. Gifs via Stephanie Vail @myregularface)
(Photo: Boston Bruins TV)
Wednesday morning, May 20, the Boston Bruins announced the selection of Don Sweeney as the new General Manager for the team. In the afternoon, he was joined by Boston Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs and President Cam Neely to share information about the decision and the focus for the coming season.
“Today is a great day, today is really, I think, a new era for Boston Bruins hockey. I hope our fan base out there, our season ticket holders, everyone in Bruins Nation, if you will, will realize this is a day to celebrate,” Jacobs began. “Today is a culmination of roughly a month-long search to find our next GM. We’ve done a worldwide search, very thorough. I will not get into the candidates that we spoke to, other than to say with great pride we sit here and introduce Don Sweeney as our eighth general manager in Boston Bruins history.”
Neely discussed the process that resulted in the selection of Sweeney in broad strokes.
“It took longer than expected, a lot of it had to do with schedules, second interviews. We identified four candidates that we felt would be strong candidates to be the next GM of the Boston Bruins,” Neely explained. “Some with previous GM experience, others without. Ultimately, it boiled down to where we are as an organization, the team that we currently have, feeling like we don’t have to completely change a great deal. And the fact that Don knows the organization from top to bottom played a huge factor in the decision to go with Don Sweeney.”
Don Sweeney
Sweeney’s involvement with the Bruins organization has been in the front office for the past ten years, joining the team in 2006 as the Director of Player Development. In 2007 he was named Director of Hockey Operations and was then promoted to Assistant General Manager in September 2009.
Among other duties, as Assistant GM, Sweeney was heavily involved in the development of the team’s drafted prospects at all levels and ran the team’s first off-season Development Camp in July 2007. The ninth camp will take place this summer.
However, Sweeney’s involvement with the team dates back to 1984 when he was drafted by the Bruins in the eighth round, 166th overall. After playing four years of hockey for Harvard University. He then went on to play 16 years in the NHL, which included 15 for the Black and Gold. Sweeney is one of two defensemen and four players in the history of the team to play more than 1,000 games in the Spoked B.
When first announced, Sweeney expressed his feelings about the decision, which he reiterated in the afternoon.
“I am both excited and humbled for the opportunity to be named the General Manager of the Boston Bruins,” he said. “I am fully aware of everyone’s expectations to move the organization forward. The challenges ahead rest with the players, the coaches and the management group to work hard to make the necessary changes to bring the Bruins back to the forefront of contending for the Stanley Cup.”
And of course, it was of no surprise when the first question put to Sweeney during the press conference had to do with the status of current head coach Claude Julien.
“I’ve spoken with Claude. I know it’s been reported that I had spoken to Claude as a prospective general manager candidate; that also is true. I spoke to Claude again this morning, and I spoke to him as a person now in a general manager’s seat,” Sweeney said. “So I have some things that I want to sit down with Claude and go through in a very orderly fashion as to [what] I think needs to change and what direction we need to change as a group. I also acknowledged to Claude during this whole process that I think tremendously of him as a coach and as a person, so I think it’s just about lining up philosophical approaches that I believe in, that he believes in, and that we can move the group forward. He’s the coach of the Boston Bruins as of today, that’s for sure.”
Over the next few weeks, there will likely be some serious analysis of the players, the various coaches, the prospects. Some decisions may need to be made sooner than later as the 2015 NHL Draft will be here in just over five weeks.
It is clear that the team’s current upper management intends to re-identify the personality and character of the team, and work to bring a cohesive understanding to all involved from those on the ice to those making decisions.
By Rochelle Bergman
The 2015 IIHF World Hockey Championships were played. Canada played Russia. Canada won the game, 6-1. Sounds like an everyday game, doesn’t it? Two teams stand on the ice after one wins. At the end of the world championships, two anthems play through the pipes and then everyone goes home.
How wrong can that be?
On Sunday May 17th in Prague, Czech Republic, it was Team Russia who lost in the gold medal game. Unfortunately, after losing the game to Team Canada, who hadn’t won gold since 2007, most of the players on Team Russia broke protocol by leaving the ice too soon. TASS, the Russian News Agency reported that sanctions might be brought in the form of fines to the Russian team for leaving the ice before the Canadian Anthem was played. Most of the players left the ice to go to the dressing room before “O Canada” was sung. This is considered a breach of sport etiquette and an over all negative act. It shows disrespect for the other team and it’s country. Who does that? I have never heard of a team doing this before. And as the IIHF’s president mentioned when interviewed by TASS, he had not seen such a breach in the 29 years the championship has been taking place.
Not all Russian players left the ice. Dmitry Kulikov, Viktor Tikhonovt, Evgeni Malkin and Alexander Ovechkin stayed on the ice for the anthem and Ovechkin even tried to keep the other players from leaving. Well known in the NHL, these players have experienced international competitions as many levels and understand the rules and sport etiquette of the game.
To be fair, the Russian side said it was a mistake. The Russian Sport Minister, Vitaly Mutko blamed it on the gate being open. Who left the gate leading to the dressing room open? The Tournament Organizers by accident. That action made the Russian players think they could leave the rink area for their dressing room. However, many of these players have participated in past international events, but perhaps the niceties of post-game etiquette slipped their mind. But perhaps more obvious was that this was the end of the entire tournament and there are medals for the teams, individual players acknowledged for their contributions and the general formal closure of such an event. Sure it is painful to stand there after losing an important game, but it is part of the sport and something the players should have done.
The IIHF will be in touch with the Russian Ice Hockey Federation after they return home and have had a chance to investigate the transgression. It is a shame that after having worked hard and reclaimed the gold medal Team Canada’s achievements are overshadowed by this unfortunate reaction by Team Russia. Probably by the time a decision is reached on the punishment the bulk of the world will have moved on, but it is hoped that the punishment is comparable to the disrespect that Team Canada and the citizens of Canada felt. I do wonder what went through the heads of the Canadians as they watched this unusual response to the end of a tournament. Hopefully their joy at winning was all they had in their minds in the end.
In hopes to start fresh, the Arizona Coyotes General Manager Don Maloney announced Monday that they will not renew the contracts of their AHL affiliates coaching staff. Ray Edwards, who served as the coach and GM, assistants Trent Whitfield and John Slaney and goalie coach Alfie Michaud will not be part of the teams move from Portland, Maine to Springfield, Massachusetts.
On April 17th, the Coyotes announced that they signed a multi-year affiliation agreement with the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League which will replace the Portland Pirates. The Portland Pirates will now serve as the AHL affiliate to the Florida Panthers.
Ray Edwards has had a part in the organization for the past six years. He was assistant coach, before moving to the head coach position in the 2009-10 season. In the four years that Edwards was head coach, the team went 210-184-52. The team took part in the post-season only twice in Portland in four years and not once while in San Antonio.
The Pirates, who finished in eighth place in the 2014-15 AHL Eastern Conference, was able make an appearance in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
The Coyotes this past season heavily relied on the support and young talent from their affiliate, some players even kept a permanent spot on the roster up in the NHL, such as Tobias Rieder.
With a great group of young talent available for next season, the Coyotes will most likely use their AHL players as a helpful resource. The team has made it clear that the players will get a chance in the NHL only when they are ready, making their AHL team incredibly important to the success of the youth in the organization. Cleaning house gives the team a new opportunity to start fresh in a new place.
(Photo: Edmonton Oilers TV)
On Tuesday, May 19, the Edmonton Oilers announced the appointment of Todd McLellan as the new head coach, making him the 14th bench boss in the organization’s franchise history.
McLellan just finished helping Team Canada to grab the gold medal in this year’s IIHF World Hockey Championship, when they beat Russia with a resounding 6-1 victory to cap off a 10-0 record throughout the event. This was the first time Canada had won gold since 2007.
McLellan was recently let go by the San Jose Sharks after spending seven years behind their bench. In the 540 games with the Sharks, he posted a 311-163-66 record. The accomplishments the team achieved under his direction included six playoff appearances, four 40-plus win season, three 100-point season, a Presidents’ Trophy in 2009, three Pacific Division titles and back-to-back appearances in the Western Conference Final in 2010 and 2011.
Undoubtedly Oilers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Peter Chiarelli is hoping that McLellan will accomplish the same historic feat with Edmonton that he did with San Jose in his first four years there. No other head coach in NHL history has won more games in their first four seasons as head coach than McLellan, who garnered 195.
“We are extremely happy to introduce Todd as our new head coach,” said Chiarelli during the press conference. “He is a high energy person and a high level thinker who will work well and demand the most from our group. Todd has success at many levels and we are looking forward to him leading our team next season.”
McLellan has spent a number of years at all levels of hockey. Before going to San Jose, he was an assistant coach for three seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. During his four seasons with the AHL’s Houston Aeros they captured the 2003 Calder Cup. And before joining the ranks of the AHL, he served as the head coach for six seasons of the Swift Current Broncos of the Canadian major junior’s Western Hockey League.
The full press conference can be viewed here:
The Canadian Women’s Hockey League will hold its first annual golf tournament “Rinks to Links” Women’s Golf Tournament fundraiser this summer, with proceeds benefiting the league. The tournament comes as the CWHL is working toward creating sustainable women’s hockey.
The tournament is Monday, Aug. 24 in Thornhill, Ontario. CWHL players, alumni and 2015 draft picks will be participating in the event. Registration cost is $500 for an individual, $1,200 for a team of three, or $150 for a golf clinic/learn the game session.
Participants will also get a seat at the gala dinner at the club house. The tournament is branded as a chance to spend time with many of North America’s top women hockey players, many of whom have won Clarkson Cup championships or Olympic medals. Players will also get the chance to meet local business leaders and make connections that will “help them build their careers beyond the rink,” according to the CWHL.
“Joining our talented athletes on the green this summer is a great way to support our league as we become closer to our goal of paying them to play the game they love,” CWHL commissioner Brenda Andress said. “These women have remarkable stories to share about the determination and sacrifice that have taken them to the top of their game.”
The CWHL is a professional women’s hockey league with five franchises across Canada and the United States. Teams include the Boston Blades, Toronto Furies, Calgary Inferno, Montreal Stars and Brampton Thunder. The league seeks to enable elite female hockey players to pursue their dreams of competing at the highest level possible, while enhancing the lives of others through exceptional athleticism, entertainment and motivation. The league is centrally funded, with all participating teams in the CWHL receiving equal access to financial support and given the same opportunities to succeed. The CWHL is a not-for-profit organization, with every dollar going towards building a league that is dedicated to raising the profile of women’s hockey, providing a place for the best female players in the world to compete and inspiring the next generation of female hockey players.
The Philadelphia Flyers have named its 19th head coach in franchise history, and his name is not Mike Babcock. Dave Hakstol will be the new face behind the Flyers bench next season.
Hakstol spent the last 11 seasons as the head coach for the University of North Dakota. He compiled a 289-143-43 overall record in 475 games. North Dakota went 29-10-3 during the 2014-15 season, and landed a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four for the seventh time in 11 seasons under Hakstol. The seven Frozen Four berths were the most for any team in the NCAA during the last 11 seasons.
Hakstol reached the NCAA Tournament in all 11 seasons while coaching at UND. His team went 17-11 in Tournament games, and had a 54-24 overall postseason record. He is the second winningest coach in University of North Dakota program history. He led his team to three regular season conference titles including the MacNaughton Cup in the Western Collegiate Hockey Assocation (WCHC) twice, and the Penrose Cup as the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) champions in the 2014-15 season. Hakstol was an eight time finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award for national coach of the year.
Dave Hakstol
While coaching the North Dakota program, Hakstol had seven players named as Hobey Baker Finalists, and 11 All-Americans. Hakstol’s program has turned out 20 NHL players and 46 of his former players have played some kind of professional hockey. While under Hakstol, UND had 42 players drafted into the NHL, including eight that went in the first round. Some of Hakstol’s former players include Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Matt Greene (LA Kings), T.J.Oshie (St. Louis Blues),Travis Zajac (New Jersey Devils), and Drew Stafford (Buffalo Sabres/Winnipeg Jets). He also coached forward Chris VandeVelde, who is an unrestricted free agent this summer, but played for the Flyers last season.
Hakstol may not have any coaching experience in the NHL, but he will be able to help develop the young defensive prospects coming up in the next few years. Ron Hextall, the Flyers general manager, went “outside-the-box” and didn’t go with the popular choice over the guy he thought was right for the job. Hextall has been preaching patience in the development of the young prospects so this move shouldn’t be a surprise. Hakstol won’t be afraid to play any of the young kids should they make the roster. Hextall went with a fresh face and not with the big name coach, or someone that was already in the organization, which the Flyers have been known to do. The current Flyers’ assistants will retain their positions for now, but that could change in the future.
Will Dave Hakstol be the next great NHL coach? No one knows what the future will hold, but it will be interesting to see how he handles the NHL, and the pressure of coaching in Philly.
If you are looking for a well-rounded internship with a professional ice hockey team, look no further than the Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club (AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning). Interns really can do it all with the Syracuse Crunch, as was the case for Public Relations Intern Jennifer Greene on a Monday in the beginning of April. Greene, a Syracuse University senior, majoring in Public Relations and Communications, became the first female on the ice with the AHL team.
Greene, a goaltender for the Syracuse University’s Women’s Ice Hockey Club Team, signed an amateur tryout contract in order to practice one morning with the team.
She is actually the third female in the history of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization to take part with the boys. The first was Manon Rheaume, another goaltender, who became the first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues when she appeared for a period in an exhibition game for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the St. Louis Blues. U.S.A. Hockey Defenseman Anne Schleper skated with the Lightning in October 2014 after team won the Silver Medal in Sochi.
When the opportunity arose for Greene to take part in a practice with the team she was up for the challenge. “I accompanied Jim (Sarosy, Chief Operating Officer for the Syracuse Crunch) to the coaches office one day and Rob Zettler, the team’s Head Coach, asked me when I was going to get on the ice with them. I thought it was a joke and laughed it off originally. Then a few weeks later, Zettler brought the idea up again and confirmed that they did in fact want me to take part in a practice”.
Greene’s father traveled to Syracuse, New York from their home in Barre, Vermont in order to take in his daughter practicing with the professional ice hockey team. “We have horses at my house and sometimes its difficult to find people to look after them if we are away. He ended up missing my last regular season home game at Syracuse. My mom came to watch it, but he was kind of bummed that he missed what was probably going to be the last organized game I would play because he had to stay back and take care of the horses. When I found out that I was going to practice with Syracuse Crunch, I told him about it and he wanted to come and watch it even if it was only for 20-25 minutes. It was really great to have him there and everyone was really great with him. Eric Neilson (forward with the Syracuse Crunch) chatted with him for a bit, so he felt pretty special”.
Greene signing her ATO contract to practice with the Syracuse Crunch Hockey Club.
This wasn’t the first experience Greene had playing with the boys. Even though she played on her all female high school team, growing up she attended clinics with mostly boys and also spent several hours having her brother take shots on her. However, practicing with professional male athletes definitely took it to a new level. Going into this practice Greene was very nervous. The members of the Syracuse Crunch seemed to embrace having her there…those that realized she was. “I’m a lot shorter than they all are and had my hair in a braid. Some of them seemed like it was just another day and some seemed surprised. One of the players ripped a shot right at me and I thought to myself, ok he probably doesn’t realize it’s a girl! Some of the players went a little easier on me and there were others that didn’t (laughs)”.
This particular practice took place took place shortly after the Syracuse Crunch clinched their berth into the Calder Cup playoffs. Not only was Greene concerned for her safety, she was mostly concerned that I didn’t injure someone accidentally by having someone trip over her and fall. Fortunately her participation during the practice went smoothly and she has another experience to add to her season spent with the Syracuse Crunch. “I was on the ice with David Alexander (Syracuse Crunch Goaltending Coach) and the other two goalies (Kristers Gudlevskis and Adam Wilcox) prior to the skaters coming out. It was cool that as they skated on, several of them that I had known off the ice through my Public Relations internship fist-bumped me and said how cool it was that I was out there with them. It was definitely memorable”.
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