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Stevens' start a success

When he played for the Springfield Indians and Falcons, John Stevens learned a lot from his coaches, Jimmy Roberts and Kevin McCarthy.

An eye injury shortened his career and led him to coaching. One year after losing out to be head coach of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks (now just the Ducks), Stevens has what eluded him during his playing career - a regular gig in the NHL.

Stevens, at the helm in Philadelphia, won his NHL coaching debut Thursday against Atlanta.

He became the 18th former AHL head coach in the current NHL head coaching ranks when he was promoted to lead the Flyers. Phantoms head coach Craig Berube moved up to be Stevens' assistant, a position he held on the Phantoms' 2005 Calder Cup championship team.

Kjell Samuelsson, a seven-year assistant with the Phantoms, has been named the AHL club's fourth head coach.

Stevens was returning home from his son's hockey game last weekend when the call came from Flyers interim general manager Paul Holmgren, who coached him when both were with the Hartford Whalers. Holmgren gave Stevens, an assistant under Ken Hitchcock, the Flyers' head coaching job.

While he was coaching the Phantoms, Stevens did an outstanding job developing young players. Now Stevens and the Flyers will rebuild with prospects such as Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, R.J. Umberger and goalie Antero Niittymaki, all who played for the Stevens-coached Phantoms. It doesn't stop there - 11 current Flyers played for Stevens.

Stevens knows coaches are hired to be fired. He knows his job won't be easy, but given his success and history with the core group he will guide, he is the right man for the job.

When he played with the Indians and Falcons, Stevens was affectionately called "Cat," as in musician Cat Stevens.

Here's hoping this Cat has nine lives.

GAJDA MAKES GOOD: Torry Gajda of Westfield scored the game-winner as the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL defeated the Toledo Storm last weekend. He had three points for the weekend including a short-handed goal and was named first star in his team's Oct. 20 game.

MINOR MATTERS: Chicago Wolves right wing Darren Haydar has been named the AHL Player of the Week. In two games last week, Haydar scored two goals and added three assists for five points in a pair of Wolves victories ... Nine of Houston's first 17 goals this season have come from rookies Benoit Pouliot (four), Danny Irmen (two), Alex Leavitt, Ben Thomson and Ryan Hamilton (one each) ... Norfolk scored the final eight goals of its two-game weekend series with Philadelphia last weekend, rallying from 5-2 down for a 6-5 overtime win on Friday and posting a 4-0 shutout on Saturday... Peoria had allowed three power-play goals in 53 chances over its first seven games (94.7 percent) before Toronto went 3-for-7 in a 4-3 win over the Rivermen last Sunday... At 6-0-0-1, Portland is off to the best seven-game start in team history; the 1994-95 Pirates, who set an AHL record by going unbeaten in their first 17 games (14-0-3), were 5-0-2 ... Wilbraham resident and AHL President and CEO David Andrews, a Nova Scotia native and former general manager of the AHL's Cape Breton Oilers, was inducted into the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame in Halifax ... The Hartford Wolf Pack's home game Dec. 30 against the Manchester Monarchs (7 p.m. faceoff) will include an in-game concert featuring the Jonas Brothers, the Truth Squad and Nothing but Strings. The concert is sponsored by Radio Disney ... Condolences to Falcons president and general manager Bruce Landon on the loss of his mother.

AROUND THE NHL: The Phoenix Coyotes recalled former Falcons goalie David LeNeveu from San Antonio Thursday, one day after waiving backup goaltender Mike Morrison. The 23-year-old LeNeveu played in 13 games for Phoenix last season with a 3-8-2 record and 3.24 goals against average. He will be the new backup to starter Curtis Joseph. Morrison cleared waivers and was assigned to the San Antonio Rampage. ... Goalie J.S. Giguere compiled a 3-0-0 record this week against the Red Wings (4-1), Minnesota Wild (2-1) and the Los Angeles Kings (3-2). He stopped 77 of 81 shots (.951 save percentage) and posted a 1.30 goals against average for the week ... At 6-1-1, the Thrashers got off to the best start of their history in terms of victories and points (13) through eight games ... In their first 10 games last season, Atlanta used five goalies; this year, the Thrashers have ridden Kari Lehtonen (6-1-1, .934 save percentage, 1.83 GAA) to the top of the Southeast Division and have given up the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference (16) ... Marc Savard notched three assists on six team goals in two games, extending his point streak to a season-high four games before it was stopped by Montreal Thursday ... With defenseman Brad Stuart leaving the ice due to an injury, Wade Brookbank played both forward and defense and scored the Bruins' first goal last week against Buffalo ... Sergei Samsonov returned to Boston as a fourth line wing for Montreal and did not score in the Canadiens' 3-2 win Thursday ... Zdeno Chara met with his old team, the Ottawa Senators, for the first time yesterday. Thomas Vanek scored nine points (4 goals, 5 assists) and was a +9 in three games last week ... Maxim Afinogenov picked up 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in three games, including a career-high five point night in the 9-1 win against Philadelphia in a game where ex-Falcon goalie Robert Esche allowed all nine goals ... The line of Afinogenov, Derek Roy and Vanek combined for 24 points in the three games last week.

posted by: MightyDuck at 16:08 | link | comments |

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