"They promptly hired Mike Stothers. This is a guy who coached the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL to two consecutive first round defeats, followed by a resurgence of the organization that led to a 2nd place division finish, and a second round defeat. The team was supposed to contend the next season but underacheived the whole way, to the third barely-.500 season in Stothers' tenure. They lost in the second round."
Wow, Stothers. Underwhelm me some more.
What about Todd Richards, head coach of Scranton/Wilkes Barr Penguins?
"After retiring from playing, Richards spent four seasons as an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Admirals. The Admirals advanced to the playoffs each year. In 2004, Milwaukee won the Calder Cup, after sweeping the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in four games.
On August 3, 2006, Richards became the fourth head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. During his first season, he guided Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 51-24-2-4 record and a second-place finish in the AHL’s East Division. The Penguins advanced to the East Division Finals before falling to the Hershey Bears."
They lost this past season in the Calder Cup finals to John Anderson's Chicago Wolves. (Anderson is now the new coach of the Thrashers). It might be good to have a younger(42), ex-defenseman coaching this team. I would think that he might know a little better than some on how to work with the younger and developing players.
Bio:
TODD RICHARDS
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Head Coach
Todd Richards begins his second season as head coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Named the fourth head coach in franchise history on Aug. 3, 2006, 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.
Richards, 40, came to the Penguins after spending four seasons as an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Admirals. During that time the Admirals made four playoff appearances, advancing to the Calder Cup Finals twice. Milwaukee captured the league’s championship by sweeping Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in four games in 2004.
A proven winner at every level, Richards joined the Admirals coaching staff after a successful 13-year professional career that included championships in the International Hockey League, American Hockey League and Swiss B League.
A defenseman during his playing days, Richards was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round (33rd overall) of the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, and began his career with the club’s AHL affiliate in Sherbrooke during the 1989-90 season.
The Crystal, Minnesota, native was traded to the Hartford Whalers organization early the next season, spending the majority of the campaign with the Springfield Indians, with whom he captured a Calder Cup title. He also made his NHL debut with the Whalers during the season, recording four assists and two penalty minutes in two games.
Richards joined the International Hockey League’s Las Vegas Thunder prior to the 1993-94 season, and was named the league’s top defender as a member of the team during the 1994-95 campaign. He spent the next six seasons as a member of the Orlando Solar Bears, captaining the squad for four seasons and winning and IHL championship with the club in 2000-01, the league’s final year of existence.
Richards concluded his playing career with Servette Geneve of Switzerland in 2001-02, helping the club to a Swiss B League title. He was also singled out for his individual contributions, as he was named the league’s top defenseman.
Prior to turning pro, Richards spent four seasons at the University of Minnesota. He was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association rookie of the year in 1985-86, was a member of the WCHA Second All-Star Team three consecutive seasons (1986-87, 1987-88, 1988-89) and served as team captain during his senior season. During his collegiate career, the Golden Gophers won two WCHA championships (1987-88 and 1988-89) and were NCAA runners-up once, falling to Harvard in the 1989 title game.