Chris Thorburn was over at Philips Arena this morning for the Children's Healthcare Of Atlanta Rehab Summer Games (more on that later this week) and while he was there I asked him about Randy Cunneyworth, our new assistant coach who just so happened to coach Thorburn for three years in Rochester. You can count Thorburn among his fans and just one of many people who thought Cunneyworth had a good shot at making the jump to the NHL this year. Here's what Thorburn had to say about his former coach:

"He taught me a lot. I was coming into pro hockey and I was pretty much blinded by the game. I needed to learn a lot about myself and the game and he was there for me giving me guidance. I think he's going to be great for our team. He knows the game, he's intense, and I think players are going to be able to relate to him. He's really easy to talk to. I'm excited about having him down here and I'm sure he'll bring the kind of success that he in had with the Rochester Americans with him. He just has a way of getting through to the players and getting them to perform for him. He'll probably do the same thing here. Guys will respect him. He's played at this level and he knows what it takes to win."

Eric Boulton actually played with and for Cunneyworth back in 1999-2000 in Rochester. Boulton was a young player and Cunneyworth was a player/assistant coach winding up his playing career. Boulton piled up 276 PIM that season- his second highest season total.

On a side note, I've come to acquire a small collection of Score hockey cards from the 1990 season (way back when there were 21 teams in the NHL- and 16 of them made the playoffs!). Every week or so I'm given a new pack by someone here in the office, and lo and behold, last Friday I got a Randy Cunneyworth Hartford Whalers card. Is it just me or did the Whalers have one of the best NHL uniforms of all time? Great colors, and the logo had everything- a 'W' for the team, an 'H' for the city, and a whale's tail. Awesome

In other news, I'm glad to see we signed Matt Siddall. Not many ninth round draft picks pan out but Siddall is in good company. Mark Streit went eight spots ahead of him in 2004 and if Siddall ends up suiting up for the Thrashers he'll be the fifth player from the ninth round of the 2004 draft to make it to the NHL. You may or may not recall that Siddall was one of my two workout partners (along with Myles Stoesz) went I went into the gym during prospect camp. He has decent size, loves to hit, and he's not a stranger to picking up some points. He's probably best suited to being an energy/checking line player and it's hard to project where those guys end up. When you're looking at an offensive player you can gauge whether he has the speed, vision and skill to do what he does at a higher level. Checkers, on the other hand, can go awfully far based on hard work and the ability to be coached. Siddall will likely be competing for a spot in Chicago this fall where his personality and work ethic should endear him to Wolves fans.