[Guitarbyte]

Dave pollak's blog:http://blogs.mercurynews.com/sharks/...-curtis-brown/

If nothing else, maybe the Sharks front office is learning how the flow of information in the Internet era can undermine their attempts to keep hirings under wraps.

First came the leak out of Detroit that Todd McLellan was getting the top job in San Jose. Oops. That ended the suspense in a hurry. Since then, the Sharks have been holding off on the announcement of any assistant coaches until they had everybody’s name on a contract.

But the name of former Chicago Blackhawk coach Trent Yawney has been in circulation for weeks now. A few days ago, a second name surfaced — again in a leak that originated with the Red Wings — when word got out that Detroit’s video coach, Jay Woodcroft, was joining McLellan in San Jose.

And now, hours ago, (as a couple of you were quick to point out to me) word comes from the Wilkes-Barre, Pa., Standard-Speaker that Todd Richards, coach of the Penguins’ AHL affiliate there, is leaving that job to be part of the staff in San Jose.

Richards, 41, had a brief call-up as an NHL defenseman with Hartford in the early 1990s, and has had success in Wilkes-Barre, compiling a 98-49-5-8 record and a trip to the Calder Cup finals.

UPDATED INFORMATION: A Sharks source now confirms that, yes, the team and Richards have been talking and, yes, it looks as if he will be part of McLellan’s staff. Wednesday was expected to be the day that everything becomes official, but the fact that Richards’ name is now out there along with the two others could accelerate the process.

******** I had a chance the other day to talk with Curtis Brown and he sounded as if he’s ready for the next phase of his hockey career to continue in Switzerland.

That may be because Brown talked with Joe Thornton — who played there during the 2004-05 lockout — before signing a two-year contract with the Kloten Flyers.

“That was key,” Brown said. “I talked to Joe and he said it was unbelievable.”

Added the veteran center: “For my family and the situation and everything, I think it’s going to be a great experience. It wasn’t going to work out at this juncture with the Sharks. If I waited something could have opened up in the NHL, but I got to a place where I wasn’t willing to let this opportunity get by me.”

I told him a lot of fans were wondering why he didn’t see more ice time in that four OT loss to Dallas that eliminated the Sharks last spring.

So, to clarify, was that injury-related or a coach’s decision?

“That was a coach’s decision,” he said, indicating he, too, was somewhat mystified under the circumstances.

Brown said he would miss playing for the Sharks and living in the Bay Area. “I wish I was still a part of it, but this is a good opportunity and we’re going to enjoy it.”

[68 Z-28]

Gah. I hate to hear that kinda **** from a player. I'm glad RW is gone.

[CHALUPA]

Good for CuBro. I'm glad to see him being aggressive with his hockey future and not simply coast along hoping someone will pick him up. I deeply respect his skill and his burning heart, as he gave so much to us. You can tell he cared for the fans as much as we cared for him.

GL in Switzerland

[Guitarbyte]

Originally Posted by 68 Z-28

Gah. I hate to hear that kinda **** from a player. I'm glad RW is gone.

i didn't realize he was dressed, we could have had a fresh guy out there? RW is such an idiot.

[Surfersully]

told you's so

[CHALUPA]

Originally Posted by Guitarbyte

i didn't realize he was dressed, we could have had a fresh guy out there? RW is such an idiot.

Was he out on the PK we lost the game on? If he wasn't, I'm going to freak out.

[Guitarbyte]

Originally Posted by CHALUPA

Was he out on the PK we lost the game on? If he wasn't, I'm going to freak out.

nope, he didn't play at all in the overtime.

[wraith985]

Oh good, Wilson sat him for over an hour. Genius.

[StrayShark]

Wasn't that the game where Mihalek got hurt at the end of regulation?

If the bench was already shortened, why would you artificially shorten it more?

Have fun with your new coach TO.

[Surfersully]

Originally Posted by StrayShark

Wasn't that the game where Mihalek got hurt at the end of regulation?

If the bench was already shortened, why would you artificially shorten it more?

Have fun with your new coach TO.

Because Wilson has no idea how to use the tools he's given in the best way. Or it could be that Wilson is a tool. Take your pick, but I'm inclined to say both, like I've been saying for the past three years.

[Bad Czech Pun]

Originally Posted by StrayShark

Wasn't that the game where Mihalek got hurt at the end of regulation?

If the bench was already shortened, why would you artificially shorten it more?

Have fun with your new coach TO.

Ugh, YES.

Originally Posted by CHALUPA

Was he out on the PK we lost the game on? If he wasn't, I'm going to freak out.

Alright, I had to go look up TOI info because this was bugging me and I have mostly blocked that game from my memory. Brown played a total of 3:27 in the OTs...2:58 in the 3rd and :29 in the 4th. The :29 was played at the beginning of the PK; he was not on the ice for the goal.

...

At any rate, good luck to him.

[Kingshark49]

Originally Posted by CHALUPA

Good for CuBro. I'm glad to see him being aggressive with his hockey future and not simply coast along hoping someone will pick him up. I deeply respect his skill and his burning heart, as he gave so much to us. You can tell he cared for the fans as much as we cared for him.

GL in Switzerland

Best wishes to Curtis Brown. It's a shame really that he won't be back, he did a lot for the Sharks organization. Obviously, if all this is true about RW benching him a that most critical of times, then the whole team lost out, not just Brown. RW sometimes would just go too far to prove a point. The Stanley Cup playoffs are not a place where you can have "inhouse" arguing and bickering over little things and then bench someone just because you can, especially a player that was vital to the teams success and being able to get as far as it did. It's all too bad. The Sharks loss is certainly Switzerland's gain and I wish "CuBro" nothing but the best...

[Guitarbyte]

anyway, there's allot of focus on curtis. How do you guys think Woodcroft, Yawney, and Richards will be able to help todd change our game?

here's some notes on each of them:
Jay Woodcroft
http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app?ser...in_coachbio_54

enters his third season with Red Wings as the team's video coach. On headset with the assistant coaches during games, Jay controls the team's video capture and editing system from the coaches' office. His responsibilities include presenting video breakdowns to staff and players during intermissions as well as preparing video scouting reports for game preparation and breakdowns of situations and individual player performances for post-game review.
Woodcroft joined the Red Wings after a six-year minor league career and four collegiate seasons as a player. He spent 2004-05 in Germany playing for the Stuttgart Wizards. In his career, Woodcroft donned the jerseys of the Corpus Christi Rayz (CHL), Flint Generals (UHL), Anchorage Aces (WCHL), Missouri River Otters (UHL) and Jackson Bandits (ECHL).

A native of Toronto, Woodcroft received a four-year scholarship to the University of Alabama-Huntsville, where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in finance. Jay's brother, Todd, is an amateur scout for the Washington Capitals, while another brother, Craig, played several seasons in Europe, with Team Canada and Colgate University. In the summer, Jay and his brothers operate the Northern Edge Hockey School. He enjoys following the stock market and spending time with his wife, Jaclyn.

^notice he has a brother todd haha, i could see him definitely using allot of technology during games, assuming he's not just going to be a video coach(which we could actually use)
Trent Yawney
was blackhawk's coach, but mostly just a coach for their ahl affiliate.

Yawney was honored by The Hockey News as their "Minor Pro Coach of the Year" for the 2003-04 season, citing his ability to "work wonders." The only coach in the AHL to work without an assistant coach, he guided a squad full of rookies which was also depleted by injuries and NHL call-ups to a post-season appearance.

He was also an nhl defenseman, and played alongside Roenick, and also coached him.

Playing in Chicago was the most fun I've ever had. It's where I started, and even when I left, part of me stayed there."

Todd richards

he guided Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 51-24-2-4 record and a second-place finish (108 points) in the AHL’s East Division. The Penguins advanced to the East Division Finals before falling to Hershey.

was also a defenseman with a 13 year career in the ahl and lead a swiss team to a league title in his last year.

[Guitarbyte]

more from dave pollak to sum things up:
http://blogs.mercurynews.com/sharks/...-thing-for-us/

After talking with Todd McLellan earlier this evening, here are a couple things that’ll be in the print edition tomorrow:

1) Trent Yawney will have responsibility for the defense and the penalty kill.

2) Todd Richards will handle the power play and work closely with the head coach on forward lines and matchups.

But WTC is here to go beyond what appears in the paper. And here’s what else McLellan had to say about who will have what other roles and how the process worked.

For one thing, look for Yawney to be bad cop when one might be needed.

McLellan said the day he was hired that he wanted a staff that would complement (note spelling) him. I asked how that played out in the hiring of assistants.

“I look at personalities,” McLellan said. “I have a little bit of energy and I think I’m upbeat. I’ve known Trent Yawney for many years and he can be the same, but I also know that he can be a grumpy guy and that’s a real good thing for us.”

And Richards?

“Todd Richards has a real passion for the game,” McLellan added. “He can be a positive guy and can pick people up.”

Yawney and Doug Wilson have stayed in contact since their days together on the Blackhawk blue line, but the new head coach said he had Yawney on the top of his list even before he knew his first coaching opportunity would be in San Jose. McLellan and Yawney were teen-age teammates with Swift Current back in the mid-1980s.

“I knew in the back of my mind who I would like as an assistant coach right off the bat,” McLellan said. “Trent was a natural fit. By no means was it Doug saying, ‘hire Trent.’ I brought it to Doug. Other teams were interested in Trent, so that was one hiring that happened early.”

McLellan said he began paying attention to Richards when both were in the AHL, McLellan in Houston and Richards as an assistant under Claude Noel in Milwaukee. When McLellan began asking around, people like Noel and Pittsburgh General Manager Ray Shero — Richards’ most recent employer — had good things to say about him.

McLellan described Richards as a “June coach” — a term McLellan borrowed from Mike Babcock in Detroit to indicate a coach who always got his teams playing deep into the playoffs.

The role Jay Woodcroft will have in San Jose has been expanded from the one he had with the Red Wings, where he was their video coach. In Detroit, McLaren said, Woodcroft worked with the coaching staff; in San Jose, once he and Paul Fink (manager of hockey technology) get things set up, Woodcroft will have direct contact with players and occasionally take to the ice as well. As things evolve, he’ll have an “eye in the sky” vantage point during games — something the Sharks have lacked in recent years and a role Drew Remenda used to play in the Kingston-Constantine era.

McLellan acknowledged he doesn’t know Corey Schwab as well as the others, though the two do have a shared background. Schwab — who will have responsibility for Sharks’ goalies in the pipeline, though not the ones in San Jose — comes from North Battlefield, Saskatchewan, where McLellan had his first coaching gig.

[IllSmakIfUQuak]

damn...thats messed up on RWs part...cant wait to see what the people in toronto think of him...well good luck to brown and hope everything goes according to his plan...