At Least One Name in the Hat for Canes' G.M. Position

I've confirmed today that current Hurricanes Assistant General Manager Brad Robson will apply for the now available G.M.'s position left vacant when the team let Roy Stasiuk go earlier this week.

I asked Robson if the position at all interests him. He said, " Yes it does. I've spoken briefly with Bryan McNaughton and Herman Elfring about the position and I'll be sitting down with them in the near future, just to discuss the possibilities of the General Manager's position. I envision there will be some very qualified people that are going to apply for the position. Yes, I do know the 50 man roster that we have and I do know all the players. I've been with the organization now, just completing my second year."

Robson is also the Hurricanes Director of Scouting. He also told me, "I am retired now and I want to move ahead and challenge myself. I've been involved in hockey now for 22 years...17 to 19 in the National Hockey League with the Minnesota North Stars and Dallas Stars and I worked for some very competent G.M.'s in the NHL"

Again, Robson is only one of likely many that'll apply for the position. Team President Bryan McNaughton indicated earlier this week to local media the organization wants the new General Manager in place within 4 to 8 weeks.

Thanks,
Pat

New G.M.?? New Coach??

Well the saga known as the Lethbridge Hurricanes off-season will continue to be an interesting one for sure.

Now that the team's Board of Directors this week announced the firing of Roy Stasiuk the next question is who will be the new General Manager of this franchise and what is the B.O.D. looking for in a new G.M.? Team President Bryan McNaughton said Monday they hope to have a General Manager in place within 4 to 8 weeks and that the new guy will hire the coach. I would suggest that a G.M. might be hired sooner rather later. There are currently 4 teams in the WHL searching for a coach (Lethbridge, Regina, Everett, and Chilliwack) and one could speculate some of these teams may possibly be looking at the same coaching candidates. That's why it would be in the team's best interest to find a new G.M. as soon as possible. Of course, I don't think the board wants to rush the process either. They will certainly be looking to find the right man for the job.

What will that G.M. be looking for in a head coach? I think that's a tough one to answer right now. We'll have a better idea once the new General Manager is hired.

As I mentioned on here Monday, for the time being Governor Herman Elfring will act as interim G.M. until a replacement is found. He'll work with assistant G.M. Brad Robson during the upcoming Import Draft and scheduling meeting. Would Robson be a candidate for G.M? I put that question to Bryan McNaughton at the press conference, but he didn't want to speculate only saying there' s a long list of potential candidates. Robson is also the Hurricanes Director of Scouting. I suppose time will tell. One thing is a given. It's been an interesting and will continue to be an interesting off-season for the Lethbridge Hurricanes! Stay tuned........

Thanks,
Pat

Canes' Release Roy Stasiuk as G.M.

Lethbridge, AB – Lethbridge Hurricanes President Brian McNaughton announced at a news conference today, Canes GM Roy Stasiuk will be relieved of his duties as General Manager effective immediately.

“We had high expectations for this season with a strong key group of 89-born players and coming off last season’s Eastern Conference Championship. The Board of Directors felt that as a team we did not meet our expectations and are now looking to move in another direction.” said McNaughton “As an organization, we will continue with our mandate to develop and prepare elite level hockey players for the next level. We respect Roy’s abilities in the pursuit of this vision as our General Manager and wish him the best of luck in all of his future endeavors.”

Stasiuk began his tenure as the General Manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes in November of 2005 and the 2009-2010 season was to be his 20th in the WHL, Stasiuk has enjoyed several successes at the major junior level including two WHL championships in the 1999-2000 and 2001-2002 seasons and a Memorial Cup championship in 2002 as the Assistant GM of the Kootenay Ice. Most notably, he helped in building the Hurricanes 2008 Eastern Conference Championship team and the first Lethbridge teams to win back to back first round WHL playoff series’ in over 18 seasons.

“First of all I would like to thank everybody with the Lethbridge Hurricanes organization. Everybody meant well, I have had the opportunity to work with some tremendous staff, both on the administration and business side and certainly the hockey operations.” said Stasiuk “I feel bad about the coaching transaction last week but that is the nature of this business and I am part of that as well. I wouldn’t change anything for the world, it has been a great group to work with and I mean that from the Board of Directors to the trainers; to the stick boys; to the players. It has been a privilege and an honor.”

Here is the audio for the press conference:

Bryan McNaughton:
http://www.box.net/shared/c3duy5yknv

Roy Stasiuk:
http://www.box.net/shared/c3ap7a9vlp

Thanks,
Pat

Stasiuk Out as Canes' G.M.

Breaking News.......

I've just been notified the Lethbridge Hurricanes are announcing this afternoon that they are relieving Roy Stasiuk from his duties as General Manager of the Lethbridge Hurricanes. I will have more details and audio from an afternoon press conference once I get more information. This comes 3-days after the organization announced it was not going to re-new the contract of Head Coach Michael Dyck.

Thanks,
Pat

Rockets Take WHL Title

Congratulations to the Kelowna Rockets for winning the WHL championship. It's the team's 3rd league crown in the past 7 seasons.

The Calgary Hitmen, as fantastic as they were during the regular season had trouble at times finding answers to everything the Rockets threw at them during the 6 game series. Kelowna will now head to Rimouski, Quebec to play for the Memorial Cup as the WHL's representative.

Some people I'm sure will be asking what happened to the Hitmen. I guess you can analyze that all you want. Perhaps Calgary had too much time off between the first three series. I know it sounds strange, but I think that played a factor for the Hurricanes when they took on Spokane in the WHL final last season. Maybe it's better, when a team is on a roll just to keep playing and not have so many days off between series. Who knows. One thing about this year's Calgary Hitmen though, they had a heck of a season and will probably go down as one of the best teams to play in the WHL.

Good luck to the Rockets at the Memorial Cup! Do everyone proud and keep the trophy in the WHL!

Thanks,
Pat