The Sound Tigers just announced Brent Thompson as their new head coach. Thompson led Alaska to the Kelly Cup this year.
Thompson’s familiar IHDB page: you’ll remember him from a 14-year pro career, from 121 NHL games, from two (inaugural) years with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
He led Alaska to the Kelly Cup this year and was ECHL coach of the year in his second year as a head coach. He was with Peoria before that, including a couple of years under Dave Baseggio.
Here’s Bridgeport’s release.
–One Robitude on Twitter reminds us of this classic commercial: That’s Thompson about halfway in, lamenting what the shaver won’t do to his beard.
–Fun Brent Thompson fact: If you remember Brent Thompson as a player, you remember the toughness. Thompson actually had 2,084 penalty minutes in his AHL career. That’s seventh all-time, according to the IHDB.
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Within the updated chart is the story, with quotes from the new coach:
| TEAM | Old | New |
| BPT | Pat Bingham (4/13) | Brent Thompson (6/28) |
| PRO | Rob Murray (4/16) | Bruce Cassidy (6/25) |
| POR-a | Kevin Dineen (6/1, FLA coach) | Ray Edwards (6/27) |
| MIL | Lane Lambert (6/9, NAS ass’t) | Kirk Muller (6/27) |
| ABB | Jim Playfair (6/13, PHX assoc.) | — |
| TEX | Glen Gulutzan (6/17, DAL coach) | — |
| HOU | Mike Yeo (6/17, MIN coach) | — |
| SJS | Claude Noel (6/23, WIN coach) | — |
| SA-a | Ray Edwards (6/27) | — |
| CHI | Don Lever (6/27) | — |
a-Ray Edwards moved from San Antonio to Portland with Phoenix’s affiliation.
Not that you’d expect otherwise — that’d be quite the story, if he wasn’t — but Thompson professed excitement about taking over. “They’re very young. They’ve got a lot of potential. They’ve got a great history, and they’re an up-and-coming organization. It seems the National Hockey League goes through cycles, and they seem to be on the right cycle, going in the right direction.” If they keep going, he’ll have to be a big part of it.
By the way, speaking of the carousel, Kevin Oklobzija writes that Chuck Weber expects to stay with the Panthers’ organization, so that “SA” opening is all but certainly, in essence, an “ROC” opening.
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Confirmed an RDS report that Tomas Marcinko’s contract includes a European-assignment clause. From what we’re told, that only gives the Islanders the option to assign him to a club in Europe; it doesn’t necessarily mean he has to go to Europe if he’s not on the big club. This could simply be an low-risk way to keep his rights, to hedge just in case all that size and skill does break through, while he spends a year abroad: spend the contract, but if he does go over there, another club probably picks up at least some of the money. I’m speculating rampantly there, but it’d work. (The NHL portion of his two-way deal is substantially lower than his qualifying offer would have had to be, for what it’s worth.)
Meanwhile, the Isles traded a fourth-round draft pick for less than 70 hours of negotiating rights with Christian Ehrhoff. Would be a big (and expensive) move if he should sign.
Bruce Berlet on Mark Howe’s selection to the Hockey Hall of Fame, along with Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk and Ed Belfour.
And RIP, Lorenzo Charles and Barry Wilkins.