Latest news with #Vellucci
NBC Sports
3 days ago
- Business
- NBC Sports
Chicago Blackhawks hire Mike Vellucci as an assistant coach under Jeff Blashill
CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Mike Vellucci as an assistant coach for Jeff Blashill's first staff with his new team. The Blackhawks announced the addition of Vellucci. He joins Michael Peca and Anders Sorensen as Blashill's assistants. Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite, video coach Matt Meacham and assistant video coach Adam Gill round out the staff. Vellucci, 58, spent the previous five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was an assistant general manager and director of hockey operations for the Carolina Hurricanes from 2014-19. Vellucci also was an assistant coach for the U.S. when it won the world championship. Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar and defenseman Alex Vlasic were part of the winning American team. 'Serving as an assistant coach at the world championship this summer and winning a gold medal for our country alongside Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic will bring such valuable experience to this group,' Blashill said in a release. 'That kind of championship-caliber background only makes our team better and I'm excited to get to work.' Blashill, 51, took over as Chicago's head coach after spending the last three seasons as an assistant to Jon Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Fox Sports
3 days ago
- Sport
- Fox Sports
Blackhawks hire Vellucci as an assistant coach under Blashill
Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Mike Vellucci as an assistant coach for Jeff Blashill's first staff with his new team. The Blackhawks announced the addition of Vellucci on Monday. He joins Michael Peca and Anders Sorensen as Blashill's assistants. Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite, video coach Matt Meacham and assistant video coach Adam Gill round out the staff. Vellucci, 58, spent the previous five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was an assistant general manager and director of hockey operations for the Carolina Hurricanes from 2014-19. Vellucci also was an assistant coach for the U.S. when it won the world championship last month. Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar and defenseman Alex Vlasic were part of the winning American team. 'Serving as an assistant coach at the world championship this summer and winning a gold medal for our country alongside Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic will bring such valuable experience to this group," Blashill said in a release. "That kind of championship-caliber background only makes our team better and I'm excited to get to work.' Blashill, 51, took over as Chicago's head coach last month. He spent the last three seasons as an assistant to Jon Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning. ___ AP NHL: recommended
Winnipeg Free Press
3 days ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Blackhawks hire Vellucci as an assistant coach under Blashill
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Mike Vellucci as an assistant coach for Jeff Blashill's first staff with his new team. The Blackhawks announced the addition of Vellucci on Monday. He joins Michael Peca and Anders Sorensen as Blashill's assistants. Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite, video coach Matt Meacham and assistant video coach Adam Gill round out the staff. Vellucci, 58, spent the previous five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was an assistant general manager and director of hockey operations for the Carolina Hurricanes from 2014-19. Vellucci also was an assistant coach for the U.S. when it won the world championship last month. Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar and defenseman Alex Vlasic were part of the winning American team. 'Serving as an assistant coach at the world championship this summer and winning a gold medal for our country alongside Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic will bring such valuable experience to this group,' Blashill said in a release. 'That kind of championship-caliber background only makes our team better and I'm excited to get to work.' Blashill, 51, took over as Chicago's head coach last month. He spent the last three seasons as an assistant to Jon Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning. ___ AP NHL:
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Blackhawks hire Vellucci as an assistant coach under Blashill
CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Blackhawks have hired Mike Vellucci as an assistant coach for Jeff Blashill's first staff with his new team. The Blackhawks announced the addition of Vellucci on Monday. He joins Michael Peca and Anders Sorensen as Blashill's assistants. Goaltending coach Jimmy Waite, video coach Matt Meacham and assistant video coach Adam Gill round out the staff. Advertisement Vellucci, 58, spent the previous five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was an assistant general manager and director of hockey operations for the Carolina Hurricanes from 2014-19. Vellucci also was an assistant coach for the U.S. when it won the world championship last month. Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar and defenseman Alex Vlasic were part of the winning American team. 'Serving as an assistant coach at the world championship this summer and winning a gold medal for our country alongside Frank Nazar and Alex Vlasic will bring such valuable experience to this group," Blashill said in a release. "That kind of championship-caliber background only makes our team better and I'm excited to get to work.' Blashill, 51, took over as Chicago's head coach last month. He spent the last three seasons as an assistant to Jon Cooper with the Tampa Bay Lightning. ___ AP NHL:
Vancouver Sun
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Vancouver Sun
Why we keep circling back to Manny Malhotra as possible Canucks head coach
Mike Vellucci is as an assistant coach with Team USA at the 2025 world hockey championship. He's guiding Vancouver Canucks ' wingers Conor Garland and Drew O'Connor in the 17-day event in Stockholm, Sweden, and Herning, Denmark. He's also looking for NHL work. Vellucci was part of the Pittsburgh Penguins' purge when bench boss Mike Sullivan bolted to the New York Rangers on May 2, so there's another Canucks connect-the-dots familiarity consideration in the continuing search to replace head coach Rick Tocchet . Vellucci, 58, was a Penguins assistant for five seasons, partly under general manager Jim Rutherford, and won AHL, OHL and North American Hockey League championships. It spoke to an ability to motivate those on cusp of transitioning to the NHL and those hoping to get to 'The Show' some day. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. After all, Vellucci was a seventh-round draft choice of the Hartford Whalers in 1984 and the defenceman knew about hope and reality. He played just two NHL games. What does this have to do with Abbotsford head coach Manny Malhotra as a candidate to replace Tocchet? It depends how the Canucks' hockey operations department — and especially ownership — views the hope-and-reality franchise spectrum. They're more than a centre and winger away from contending in the competitive Pacific Division, and growing their game over several seasons is an easier sell to fans than the owner. It's always been about the playoff and revenue push, and with belief there's still a narrow window to win, a play for a proven veteran coach is probably more realistic for ownership. There's hockey ops familiarity with Peter Laviolette and options include Adam Foote (if he doesn't join Tocchet), Marco Sturm, Todd Nelson and Gerard Gallant. Conversely, there's a win-win scenario for Malhotra to ascend after just one season of running a pro bench. His impact to advance Abbotsford to third round of the AHL playoffs, which opens Friday at home, is hard to ignore. Consider a franchise best 44-24-2-2 record, including 13-game winning streak, and finishing the regular season with an 8-1-0-1 run. Consider injuries and recalls by the parent club and it paints a picture of decision-making and motivation progress. 'I have to give Manny a lot of credit,' Abbotsford general manager Ryan Johnson, who doubles as a Canucks AGM, recently told Postmedia. 'He has playing and coaching experience at the NHL level, but the AHL is a different animal. He has adapted very quickly. 'One of the biggest challenges when you have inconsistency is consistency. He stayed consistent with messaging and environment and players have really embraced it.' Lapping up every experience at the NHL level is also part of the process to get prospects to the NHL and stay there. It's why they're a sense of anticipation what winger Jonathan Lekkerimaki, rookie blueliner Elias Pettersson , and centre Aatu Raty could accomplish next fall as roster regulars. They saw that even in a failed attempt to make the playoffs, the parent Canucks never quit. That kind of stuff rubs off. 'You can't just go up and be OK and just be good enough,' stressed Johnson. 'You have to make a difference. Five-point weekends in the AHL aren't the path to the NHL. Sometimes, guys equate goals in Abbotsford with getting a look in the NHL. We're not concerned with goals.' Malhotra also logged four campaigns as a Toronto Maple Leafs assistant after three with the Canucks. Add 18 seasons as a centre who was always a team-first guy, and this quick rise as budding NHL bench boss in the making isn't surprising. To understand where Malhotra, who turns 45 on May 18, is headed one day you have to understand his past. He was the Rangers' seventh-overall selection in the 1998 NHL Draft, but his true value was persistency and faceoff dominance. He never scored more than 14 goals in a season, and played in 1,026 career regular season and playoff games with seven teams, including 170 with the Canucks. A freak left-eye injury in March of 2011, and the resilience to recover and return, left a lasting impression. Malhotra was struck by a deflected puck and had two off-season eye procedures. He still thrived in the circle the following season, even with reduced vision. He finished fourth overall in faceoff efficiency at 58.5 per cent efficiency in 2011-12, but struggled with the injury the next campaign and was placed on injury reserve. As a Canucks assistant, his impact was immediate. The club went from worst in draws in 2015-16 to ninth the following season. Malhotra is on the Canucks' short list for the right reasons. Familiarity, focus, future and financial affordability will come into play. And so will who actually wants to come to Vancouver after a season of significant upheaval. Allowing Malhotra to mature in the AHL as an NHL bench boss in the making makes sense. Travis Green did it four seasons at the AHL helm in Utica, N.Y. — including a Calder Cup final appearance in 2015 — before being promoted here two years later and guiding the Canucks to the 2020 playoff bubble experience. Green then ran the bench in New Jersey and got Ottawa back to the playoffs this season for first time in eight years. Malhotra could follow that patient career coaching path, but these are tense and very interesting times in Vancouver. And time moves fast. bkuzma@
