Bootland Big in Playoffs
Published on May 19, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
A lot of news off the ice in the last week or so to talk about in this installment, although the Mighty Ducks have certainly given us a tremendous story on the ice. I believe Mike Babcock has opened a lot of eyes, and possibly a lot of doors, for AHL coaches with Anaheim's improbable run this season. It is always preached in our league that this is the training ground for the future of the National Hockey League, and this postseason has proved that beyond the shadow of a doubt. How many names were familiar to you during the Anaheim/Minnesota Conference Finals? There were a ton of longtime AHL players in that series. How about Richard Park, with Cincinnati and the Phantoms. Jeremy Stevenson spent parts of three seasons with Cincinnati. Andrei Zyuzin with Kentucky and Albany. Wes Walz with the Bears among several AHL stops. Manny Fernandez with Springfield. Dwayne Roloson with Saint John and Worcester in several American League seasons. A good chunk of Anaheim's roster is stocked with guys who called Cincinnati home for multiple seasons, including Mike Leclerc, Marc Chouinard, and Jean-Sebastian Giguere. No doubt this league was the proving ground for the stars on hockey's biggest stage this postseason.
In case you didn't see it, Nick Bootland had a tremendous postseason during the ECHL's Kelly Cup playoffs. Booter had 10 goals and 17 points for the Cincinnati Cyclones in 15 playoff games. The Cyclones lost in seven games in the conference finals to the eventual Kelly Cup champ, the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. Cincinnati made it interesting in the conference finals though. The Cyclones were down three games to none, won the next three before losing Game 7 by a goal. Nick also served as the Cyclones captain except when he was here with the Bears.
On the subject of the Norfolk Admirals, an article by Tris Wykes in the Virginian Pilot newspaper in Norfolk suggest that the Admirals are in for a major roster shakeup. After the Admirals lost to the Houston Aeros in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, Wykes wrote "gone almost for sure" off the Norfolk roster next season are Casey Hankinson, Mike Peluso, Peter White, Matt Henderson, Dmitri Tolkunov, and Todd Gill. Both goaltenders in Norfolk, Michael Leighton and Craig Andersson, are under contract for next season, but one of those two is expected to be in Chicago as the Blackhawks' backup in 2003-04. According to Wykes, expect Brett McLean, Norfolk's leading scorer last season, and defenseman Marty Wilford back in a blue and gold uniform next season.
Speaking of the Admirals, there was a nice article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sunday about Trent Yawney. Yawney told the Post-Gazette's Dave Molinari that he has not formally contacted the Penguins about their coaching vacancy, but made it clear that he is interested in the position. Yawney's quote: "I'm definitely interested in being a head coach. I would definitely listen to what they had to offer." Another interesting line in Molinari's article from Yawney: "I'm pretty much a total free agent, in terms of moving up (to a better job). I can't move laterally until a specific date. If (the Penguins) contacted me, it wouldn't be an issue." Interesting that he would mention a lateral move in a Pittsburgh newspaper article with a coaching vacancy in Wilkes Barre/Scranton, don't you think?
From the mailbag, I got a number of e mails from people asking about BIG 92.7 FM's signal strength inside of GIANT Center during games. BIG's signal is great, you can hear it all over central PA, but there are places inside the building here where the signal hasn't been as clear as it can be. I got some good news on that subject this morning. I talked to Dan Steele, morning man and program director at BIG, and beginning sometime later this summer, BIG 92.7 FM will be allowed by the FCC to almost double the size of it's current transmitting tower near Lancaster. I'll spare you the technical reasons why, but the short version is, BIG's signal should be even better this fall when we hit the airwaves again. We'll keep an ear out for what that means inside the building, but hopefully that will take care of the problem. If you have any questions about radio or the Bears in general, drop me a line at jwalton@hersheypa.com, and I'll do the best I can to find an answer for you.
Have fun, and if you're on the golf course, hit âem long and straight.
JW
American Hockey League Stories from May 19, 2003
- Bulldogs Can't Hold Off Senators' Charge - Hamilton Bulldogs
- Phantoms sign Cherry Hill native James Laux - Adirondack Phantoms
- Sound Tigers On-Line Sale Ends Tuesday - Bridgeport Islanders
- CFO Brian Kelley Leaving Bridgeport Sound Tigers - Bridgeport Islanders
- IceCats Set To Unveil 10th Anniversary Logo - Worcester IceCats
- Bootland Big in Playoffs - Hershey Bears
- AHL Quick Hits - AHL
- Griffins Launch Comeback Attempt Tonight - Grand Rapids Griffins
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