WHL notebook: Portland coach may be history soon
Published 11:21 pm Monday, October 6, 2008
What do Portland Winter Hawks coach Rich Kromm and President Geroge W. Bush have in common? Well, both apparently are experiencing the frustrations that come with being a lame duck.
With the reported sale of the Winter Hawks nearing a conclusion, and with rumors swirling that new ownership plans to clean house immediately, Kromm is doing his best to guide a team he may no longer be a part of in 10 days.
“Nobody has said too much to us,” Kromm said in an interview with the Vancouver Province. “All we’ve really been told is to keep doing our jobs.”
Portland has endured a disasterous stretch under the current ownership group led by Jim Goldsmith. Amidst allegations of unpaid bills and heated exchanges with public officials, the Winter Hawks finished dead last in the Western Hockey League the past two seasons and scored just three goals in their first five games this season.
The hope in Portland is that the impending sale to Alberta oilman Bill Gallacher will pull the Winter Hawks out of their doldrums. The sale is expected to be finalized at the general managers meeting that begins Oct. 15 in Calgary.
It’s believed that Gallacher already has his people in place to take over operations, with Internet rumors tabbing former Vancouver Canucks assistant coach Mike Johnston to assume the coaching duties.
All of which leaves Kromm, in his second season at the helm in Portland, in an awkward position.
“Do the players talk about it? I’m sure they do,” Kromm said. “They know what’s going on. It’s way different from when I was a player. There was no Internet then.
“It’s something you can’t worry about,” Kromm added. “You have to put it out of your head.”
There’s been suggestions that following the sale Kromm may be retained in some capacity for the remainder of the season.
Around the WHL: Several WHL players inked NHL contracts last week, including Lethbridge center Zach Boychuk (Carolina) and defenseman Luca Sbisa (Philadelphia), Calgary goaltender Martin Jones (Los Angeles) and Spokane defenseman Justin Falk (Minnesota). Falk is the only one expected to remain in the professional ranks this season. … Seattle received good news when defenseman Thomas Hickey was returned to the team. Hickey had an outside shot of making the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings. … Underage WHLers who appear to have made their NHL teams, at least for the time being, include Chilliwack center Oscar Moller (Los Angeles), Kelowna defenseman Luke Schenn (Toronto), Red Deer center Brandon Sutter (Carolina) and Saskatoon center Colton Gillies (Minnesota). … The Canadian Hockey League announced that the 2009 Top Prospects Game will be held in Oshawa, Ontario. … Portland acquired forward Joel Ridgeway from Tri-City in exchange for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2009 bantam draft. … Vancouver center Casey Pierro-Zabotel was named the WHL Player of the Week. Pierro-Zabotel had two goals and five assists as the Giants went 2-0.
League leaders: Points — Evander Kane (Vancouver), Brett Sonne (Calgary), Casey Pierro-Zabotel (Vancouver) 13; goals — Jimmy Bubnick (Kamloops) 7; assists — Pierro-Zabotel 10; penalty minutes — Ryley Grantham (Moose Jaw) 28; wins — Kevin Armstrong (Prince George), Juha Metsola (Lethbridge) 5; goals against average — Damien Kelto (Regina), James Reid (Spokane) 0.92; save percentage — Reid .970.
Nick Patterson’s Silvertips blog: http://www.heraldnet.com/silvertipsblog
