Two news items today: Indeed it’s Scott Pellerin as the Sound Tigers’ eighth head coach; and Ty Wishart re-upped, a one-year, two-way deal. I’m in a bit of an Internet mess among other things, so please forgive the lack of links to further. But anyway, here’s further.
Stuff that won’t make the Pellerin story:
–Was hoping to connect with one of Pellerin’s main Manchester alums, and Matt Moulson was kind enough to give a call. “He’s obviously a great person. He has a great family,” Moulson said. “He and Mark (Morris), and Hubie McDonough as well, were a great staff. I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today (if not for) them.”
Pellerin “has a lot of knowledge,” Moulson said, “and he’s someone who can transfer that knowledge into actual skills.
“I’m really happy for him.”
–Pellerin interviewed with the Islanders, talked with former teammate Garth Snow and almost-teammate Jack Capuano (he was linemates with Capuano’s brother Dave for a couple of years; Maine Hall-of-Famers, both), gave a video presentation talking about different systems, “forecheck, D-zone coverage. Jack and I had some dialog, what they’re trying to do, how they teach.” There seemed to be lots of comfort with each other.
–I think I’ve used his story about coaching against Bridgeport at least three different ways today, but he followed that up by mentioning that “it’s one thing to look from the other bench, another to get an idea of who they are as people, what makes them tick.” He’s looking forward to that. He’ll look at lots of video of the prospects in the near future and really get a handle on their games, “and hit the ground running.”
–He knows Eric Boguniecki a little from their year together in the St. Louis organization, 2003-04, Pellerin’s last season as a player. “I don’t know how that Maine Black Bear-UNH Wildcat thing is going to work out,” he joked, adding seriously, “I’m looking forward to having a great working relationship with him.”
–Asked if he’d known Jack Capuano at all, knowing they missed each other by a year, and he had a great story. “I was supposed to play with Jack; his senior year would’ve been my freshman year (but he turned pro). When I was going to Maine, I wanted to wear 18. They said no, our senior captain wears 18.” Capuano signed with Toronto in the meantime, though Pellerin said he didn’t know that right away: “When I got there, another freshman had 18. I was a little (ticked) off,” he said with a laugh.
–He got to spend time around the Kings during their run to the Cup. “Unbelievable,” he said. “We were more, we didn’t have real coaching duties,” he said. “That’s what I’d have done. You don’t want any distractions. We were guests. … It was unbelievable, a great experience. I was able to go on the ice after they won the Stanley Cup, go into the locker room, lift the Cup, experience that.
“For me, the excitement was getting a chance to see a lot of the players I coached. … Whether it was one game or three years, it was great to experience that moment.”
| TEAM | Old | New |
| TEX | Jeff Pyle (4/16) | Willie Desjardins (6/12) |
| SPR | Rob Riley (4/16) | Brad Larsen (5/21) |
| BIN | Kurt Kleinendorst (5/8) | Luke Richardson (5/23) |
| ADK | Joe Paterson (5/22) | Terry Murray (6/29) |
| MIL | Ian Herbers (5/30, U Alberta) | Dean Evason (6/19) |
| CHI | Craig MacTavish (6/11) | Scott Arniel (6/26) |
| PEO | Jared Bednar (6/12) | Dave Allison (6/12) |
| HAM | Clement Jodoin (6/12, MON ass’t) | Sylvain Lefebvre(6/12) |
| LE | David Quinn (6/14, COL ass’t) | Dean Chynoweth (6/27) |
| GR | Curt Fraser (6/18, DAL ass’t) | Jeff Blashill (6/25) |
| NOR | Jon Cooper-a (6/21) | Trent Yawney-a (6/21) |
| SYR | Trent Yawney-a (6/21) | Jon Cooper-a (6/21) |
| BPT | Brent Thompson (6/27) | Scott Pellerin (7/18) |
a-Affiliation swap between Norfolk and Syracuse, Anaheim and Tampa Bay.