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HARTLEY MILLER’S HART ATTACK – (Cougars zero in on coach) May 27th, 2016 EDITION 577

The Prince George Cougars were hoping to keep the announcement of their new head coach a surprise but that is a difficult task with social media and blogs.

The Cougars have not officially confirmed that Richard Matvichuk will be taking over behind the bench although all signs point to the former NHL defenceman landing the job.

Matvichuk, born in Edmonton and raised in the nearby city of Fort Saskatchewan, is not one of many recycled WHL coaches. In fact, he actually has limited experience behind the bench.

Two years ago, the 43-year-old became head coach of the ECHL’s Missouri Mavericks (located in the Kansas City area).

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Prior to that, he spent two seasons as Assistant GM and Defensive coach with the Central Hockey League’s Allen Americans.

Picking the right coach for a particular team is no easy task. Matvichuk hasn’t been in the WHL since he was a player with the Saskatoon Blades in 1991-92.

Sometimes having a fresh approach with no preconceived ideas on a league or a team can be a benefit.

Matvichuk enjoyed a 798 game regular season career in the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars and New Jersey Devils, winning the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999.

He’s been out of the NHL as a player for 10 years.

In the 2015-16 season, Matvichuk guided the Mavericks to first place in the overall standings with a record of 52-15-3-2, an increase of 24 wins from the previous year (28-35-5-4).

The dramatic improvement was why he was named coach of the year. Missouri was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, the Western Conference semi-finals.

Cougars GM Todd Harkins has had Matvichuk at the top of his list following in depth interviews where the two have had a strong connection on philosophy, team building and strategy.

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There may have been so-called safer choices for Harkins to select from, but assuming Matvichuk is hired to replace the departed Mark Holick, his innovative ideas will be welcomed by a veteran team looking to elevate their playoff performance.

Matvichuk has plenty of accomplishments throughout his hockey career. The Cougars are banking to have some of that success rub off in Prince George.

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There is an assumption that upcoming unrestricted free agent Dan Hamhuis has played his last game with the Vancouver Canucks and that may have played a role in the team’s trade with Florida.

It can be argued that the Canucks gave up too much for 24-year-old defenceman Erik Gudbranson, who has been a solid contributor with the Panthers, but has not lived up to the hype of being the 3rd overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft.

The Panthers acquired 2014 first round pick Jared McCann plus 2017 second and fourth round picks in the deal.

Canucks GM Jim Benning obviously feels that McCann won’t develop into a number one centre.

Yes, teams have to surrender value to get talent in return, but this move seems far too early to give up on McCann who turns just 20 on Tuesday.

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Last week I suggested that goalie Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins and defenceman Brett Burns of the San Jose Sharks were the top two candidates for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

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Entering the Stanley Cup Final, Murray would still be my pick if Pittsburgh wins especially since Marc Andre Fleury is not a reliable back-up.

Should the Sharks win, goal scoring leader Joe Pavelski has moved slightly ahead of Burns, but again that could change pending the performance against the Penguins.

While San Jose is the sentimental choice of many, I am picking Pittsburgh to capture the Cup in six games.

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The eye test showed that the Sharks were a better, hungrier and quicker team than the St. Louis Blues.

At even strength over the six games, the Sharks out chanced the Blues by nearly a 2:1 ratio in shot attempts from the slot.

San Jose outscored St. Louis 22-13 in the series.

By the way, I didn’t think Blues coach Ken Hitchcock handled his goalies well. There was no need to bench Brian Elliott for games four and five, and then it seemed an act of desperation when he threw Elliott back in for game six.

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I don’t believe anyone has a logical explanation why the Raptors stink on the road in the playoffs, especially in Cleveland where they have been outscored by a whopping 88 points in just three games.

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Does it really matter if Toronto wins game six on home court where they have excelled in the Eastern Conference Final?

With a potential game seven Sunday in Cleveland, the Raptors could be psychologically beaten before taking to the court.

Toronto appears to be a reflection of the NBA playoffs where the home team is a staggering 53-23.

As a comparison, the home team in the NHL post-season is just 43-42.

The Raptors have been on an emotional up and down run. They have given their fans many thrills over the past month and it’s my belief they have overachieved.

In the end, talent should win out and that is where Cleveland has the significant edge.

I’m expecting LeBron and the Cavaliers to end the series tonight with a much different mind-set than they had for games three and four.


From the Quote Rack:

Exaggerator won the Preakness by 3 1/2 lengths. Of course he said he won by seven lengths.

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Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg

The Atlanta Braves’ Erick Aybar had to be scratched from a recent game when a chicken bone became lodged in his throat. My gosh, now the Braves are choking five months earlier than usual.

Contributor Marc Ragovin

Buffalo Bills GM Doug Whaley said he “used a poor choice of words” when he stated that football was a game humans were not designed to play. “Poor choice” indeed. He violated the #1 rule of NFL ownership: “Thou shalt not be honest.”

Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com

One more kick to the groin and Steven Adams of the OKC Thunder gets invited to host the next reunion of The Sopranos.

Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California

New Wild coach Bruce Boudreau threw the first pitch at a Toronto-Minnesota game. It rode high and tight — not the pitch, the front of his Twins jersey.

Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com

And in case you missed it:

A man has stood outside Gillette Stadium every day for a month hoping for the New England Patriots to give him a tryout. Finally, Bill Belichick stuck his head out the door and said, “Go home Terrell Owens!

Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver http://alwaysfunny.com/

Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat. He also is the 94.3 radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars home games. His column appears Fridays on myprincegeorgenow.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller

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