If you haven't been to the homepage in the last little while you may not have seen that we have hired two assistant coaches. Assistant coach Steve Weeks and Video coach Tony Borgford will remain in their current positions while former Rochester Americans Head Coach Randy Cunneyworth and former Chicago Wolves Assistant Coach Todd Nelson will join John Anderson's coaching staff.

I have never met Randy Cunneyworth but he is widely credited with developing Buffalo's top-notch group of young players that came up through their system over the last few seasons. While working as the head coach of the Sabres' AHL affiliate he coached (to name a few) Jason Pominville, Paul Gaustad, Derek Roy, Brian Campbell, Ales Kotalik, Ryan Miller and our own Chris Thorburn. There was speculation during the season that Cunneyworth would get some serious consideration for a head coaching job in the NHL this year so to land him as an assistant is a big deal.

I actually ran into Todd Nelson on my way back from Chicago yesterday. As I got to my gate at O'Hare there he was in a Thrashers polo, waiting to fly down here and sign the paperwork to make everything official. He was also coming down from Chicago to look for a house, but one of his biggest priorities as he makes the move is to find a local hockey program for his son. That tells you how much the guy loves the game. Here he is about to sign an NHL coaching contract and he's worried about where his boy is going to play. You have to love that kind of passion. In chatting with Nelson it was obvious that he has a great relationship with John Anderson and that he really wants to help change the culture in Atlanta. Chicago has been a prime destination for AHL free agents for years because it's such a fun place to play and both John Anderson and Todd Nelson want Atlanta to be viewed the same way.

While our coaching staff may not have a wealth of NHL coaching experience (Steve Weeks has 10 seasons under his belt and Tony Borgford has two) but they've combined for 1973 games on the ice at the NHL level and the new additions have a proven track record of developing young players.